Metabolic Surgery for Non-Obese Type 2 Diabetes

In Brief Objective: To compare duodenal-jejunal bypass (DJB) with standard medical care in nonobese patients with type 2 diabetes and evaluate surgically induced endocrine and metabolic changes. Methods: Eighteen patients submitted to a DJB procedure met the following criteria: overweight, diabetes diagnosis less than 15 years, current insulin treatment, residual β-cell function, and absence of autoimmunity. Patients who refused surgical treatment received standard medical care (control group). At baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery, insulin sensitivity and production of glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose-insulinotropic polypeptide were assessed during a meal tolerance test. Fasting adipocytokines and dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 concentrations were measured. Results: The mean age of the patients was 50 (5) years, time of diagnosis: 9 (2) years, time of insulin usage: 6 (5) months, fasting glucose: 9.9 (2.5) mmol/dL, and HbA1c (glycosylated hemoglobin) level: 8.9% (1.2%). Duodenal-jejunal bypass group showed greater reductions in fasting glucose (22% vs 6% in control group, P < 0.05) and daily insulin requirement (93% vs 15%, P < 0.01). Twelve patients from DJB group stopped using insulin and showed improvements in insulin sensitivity and β-cell function (P < 0.01), and reductions in glucose-insulinotropic polypeptide levels (P < 0.001), glucagon during the first 30 minutes after meal (P < 0.05), and leptin levels (P < 0.05). Dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 levels increased after surgery (P < 0.01), but glucagon-like peptide-1 levels did not change. Conclusions: Duodenal-jejunal bypass improved insulin sensitivity and β-cell function and reduced glucose-insulinotropic polypeptide, leptin, and glucagon production. Hence, DJB resulted in better glycemic control and reduction in insulin requirement but DJB did not result in remission of diabetes. Duodenal-jejunal bypass was an effective treatment for nonobese patients with type 2 diabetes leading to amelioration on glucose homeostasis and reductions in insulin requirements despite no changes in body weight. These findings were a direct consequence of duodenal-jejunal bypass in reducing insulin resistance and improving insulin secretion, along with increasing glucagon-like peptide-1.