British researchers say they have explained how weight loss can put type 2 diabetes into remission.
The issue has been achieved prominence in the UK after a leading politician, Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour party, said he had reversed the disease by losing seven stone in the last year.
The conference of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes was told yesterday that remission was possible when beta cells in the pancreas can recover and function normally.
The findings were reported to the conference in Berlin by Professor Roy Taylor, from Newcastle University, UK.
The prospect of remission through weight loss was reported in The Lancet two years ago. A study of nearly 300 patients found that about half achieved remission through weight loss.
Professor Taylor and his colleagues studied 58 participants in that trial, including 40 who achieved remission.
They found that only those who responded to weight loss showed “early and sustained” improvement in beta cell function.
Professor Taylor says that one factor may be the length of time patients have lived with the disease – and that those with recent diagnoses are more likely to have functioning beta cells.
He said: "Our findings suggest that the longer someone has lived with type 2 diabetes, the less likely the function of their beta cell is likely to improve.
"The clinical message is clear: the new effective weight loss approach should be advised for all with type 2 diabetes, especially at the time of diagnosis.”
Leave a Reply