Scientist - News - 23-04-2009:
Gastric bypass more successful if combined with probiotics
Beintema, Nienke
A recent study from Stanford University has shown that Lactobacillus benefits patients who undergo a gastric bypass operation to combat obesity. The probiotic prevented bacterial overgrowth, improved vitamin B12 availability, and promoted weight loss.
Obesity is one of the main public health issues in the developed world. Obesity rates have doubled since 1980; in the US, roughly one in three adults is obese, and in Europe roughly one in ten. The condition is associated with serious health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Gastric bypass procedures (GBP) have proven to be an effective treatment of obesity. The bypass effectively reduces the volume of the stomach, thereby forcing people to reduce their food intake. Although they result in significant weight loss, GBP carry a risk of causing gastrointestinal problems, such as bacterial overgrowth, due to changes in input of gastric juices and intestinal motility. Bacterial overgrowth causes symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence and diarrhoea.
Weight loss
Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine examined whether intake of Lactobacillus could reduce these side-effects. They published their findings in the April issue of the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. The Americans studied 44 obese patients before and after so-called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, the most commonly applied type of GBP. Half of the patients received a probiotic supplement (2.4 billion lactobacilli daily) for six months; the other half received a placebo. After six months, both groups experienced a significantly improved gastrointestinal quality of life; the groups did not differ in that respect, although the probiotics group did show a significant reduction in bacterial overgrowth compared to the control group. The probiotic group also showed significantly improved levels of vitamin B12 compared to the control group.
Most interestingly, the probiotic group had lost significantly more weight than the control group at 6 weeks (controls lost 25.5%, and the probiotic group 29.9%) and at 3 months (38.55% versus 47.68%, respectively). This trend also continued but was not significant at 6 months (60.78% versus 67.15%).
This finding supports earlier studies that concluded that some of the problem of weight increase may be related to intestinal bacteria, the authors state in their paper. They suggest that further insights into this relationship may eventually contribute to the treatment and even the prevention of obesity.
More information:
Article in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
«BackGastric bypass more successful if combined with probiotics
Beintema, Nienke
A recent study from Stanford University has shown that Lactobacillus benefits patients who undergo a gastric bypass operation to combat obesity. The probiotic prevented bacterial overgrowth, improved vitamin B12 availability, and promoted weight loss.Obesity is one of the main public health issues in the developed world. Obesity rates have doubled since 1980; in the US, roughly one in three adults is obese, and in Europe roughly one in ten. The condition is associated with serious health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Gastric bypass procedures (GBP) have proven to be an effective treatment of obesity. The bypass effectively reduces the volume of the stomach, thereby forcing people to reduce their food intake. Although they result in significant weight loss, GBP carry a risk of causing gastrointestinal problems, such as bacterial overgrowth, due to changes in input of gastric juices and intestinal motility. Bacterial overgrowth causes symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence and diarrhoea.
Weight loss
Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine examined whether intake of Lactobacillus could reduce these side-effects. They published their findings in the April issue of the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. The Americans studied 44 obese patients before and after so-called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, the most commonly applied type of GBP. Half of the patients received a probiotic supplement (2.4 billion lactobacilli daily) for six months; the other half received a placebo. After six months, both groups experienced a significantly improved gastrointestinal quality of life; the groups did not differ in that respect, although the probiotics group did show a significant reduction in bacterial overgrowth compared to the control group. The probiotic group also showed significantly improved levels of vitamin B12 compared to the control group.
Most interestingly, the probiotic group had lost significantly more weight than the control group at 6 weeks (controls lost 25.5%, and the probiotic group 29.9%) and at 3 months (38.55% versus 47.68%, respectively). This trend also continued but was not significant at 6 months (60.78% versus 67.15%).
This finding supports earlier studies that concluded that some of the problem of weight increase may be related to intestinal bacteria, the authors state in their paper. They suggest that further insights into this relationship may eventually contribute to the treatment and even the prevention of obesity.
More information:
Article in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery