Metabolic Surgery for Type 2 Diabetes: Changing the Landscape of Diabetes Care

• Published in: Diabetes care Vol. 39; no. 6; pp. 857 - 860
• Main Authors: Cefalu, William T, Rubino, Francesco, Cummings, David E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Diabetes Association 01.06.2016
• Subjects: Clinical medicine; Diabetes; Disease control; Drug therapy; Gastrointestinal surgery; Metabolic Surgery and the Changing Landscape for Diabetes Care; Pandemics; Public health
• ISSN: 0149-5992; 1935-5548
• DOI: 10.2337/dc16-0686

The accelerating pandemic of diabetes is recognized as one of the greatest global public health threats of our time (1). When one reviews the latest estimates for diabetes prevalence and projections worldwide, it is easy to appreciate the magnitude of the problem facing us not only today but also for generations to come. Given the microvascular and macrovascular complications associated with this disease, as well as the resulting morbidity and mortality, the personal, medical, and societal costs are enormous (2,3). In addition, despite continuing advances in diabetes pharmacotherapy, fewer than half of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) attain therapeutic goals designed to reduce long-term risks of complications, especially for glycemic control (4-6), and lifestyle interventions are disappointing in the long term (7). In facing these challenges, it is imperative that interventions that may interdict the disease process and complement existing therapies be expeditiously advanced into clinical practice while also balancing the costs attributed to each intervention.