Lap Band study shows positive outcomes for diabetes patients

Prof Wendy Brown and her team perform
a gastric banding procedure

by Anne Crawford

A Monash University study on the effect of bariatric surgery on obese people with type 2 diabetes has showed that most patients experienced sustained weight loss with nearly a fifth in remission from the disease. Moreover, many patients reported improved quality of life. Obesity is a key risk factor for diabetes.

Recent CCS publications: 23 Sep - 13 Oct 2017

David Tarlinton with his group. He and Simona Infantino are last
& first authors respectively on a Nature Communications article on
how an enzyme called PRMT1 keeps B cells going once activated.
See video of David explaining the research

Recent publications for Central Clinical School affiliated authors in the following departments. Note, browse down this entry for complete publications list. Linked headings for each section are to the departments' home pages.

• Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD)
• Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine
• Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CORE)
• Gastroenterology
• Immunology and Pathology
• Infectious Diseases
• Medicine
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC)
• Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre (MAPrc) 
• Surgery 

Gastric band surgery helpful for overweight diabetic patients

Prof Wendy Brown and her team perform
a gastric banding procedure

by Anne Crawford

A long-term study by Monash University researchers – the first of its kind – has found that gastric band surgery has significant benefits for moderately overweight people with type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have focused on obese people.

The five-year study by Monash’s Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CORE), found that gastric or Lap-band surgery improved the patients’ chances of diabetes remission, reduced the need for diabetes medication and dramatically enhanced their quality of life.

Program transforms pre-surgery weight loss care

by Anne Crawford

An educational program developed by Monash University and Alfred Hospital researchers to better prepare patients for bariatric (weight loss) surgery is revolutionising their care, streamlining its delivery and leading to improved weight loss after surgery.

The program was based on a study overseen by Professor Wendy Brown, director of the Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CORE), and Associate Professor Peter Nottle, director of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery at the Alfred Hospital.

Media mention: "Well worth the weight" on outcomes of high volume bariatric surgery in the public system

Bariatric surgery has not been widely used in the Australian public health system. As obesity is strongly associated with socio-economic status, excluding its use from the public system will deny many of the most in-need access to a potentially very effective treatment. Alternatively, with rigorous follow-up and behavioural change requirements, highly successful outcomes in the private system may not translate to the public system. Patients were older, heavier and suffered more co-morbid disease than previously reported cohorts. This article by Monash-Alfred researchers concluded however that for the first time, excellent outcomes across a range of key quality domains in a large patient cohort have been reported in the public system. High-volume bariatric surgery in the public system is viable.

Reference: Burton P, Brown W, Chen R, Shaw K, Packiyanathan A, Bringmann I, Smith A, Nottle P. Outcomes of high-volume bariatric surgery in the public system. NZ J Surg. 2015 Oct 16. doi: 10.1111/ans.13320. [Epub ahead of print]

Photo of the week: Prof Wendy Brown's group

Bariatric Surgery Registry (SPHPM) and Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CCS).
L-R Back row. Anna Palmer (Ethics Assistant), Brittany Smith (Customer Relationship Officer), Prof Wendy Brown (Director, Professor of Surgery, CCS), Cheryl Laurie (Research Nurse), Dianne Brown (Project Manager), Lucy Davenport (Administrative Assistant), Tiffany Tei (Summer Scholarship student)
Front row. Aileen Heal (Administrative Assistant), Jazz Padarath (Data entry assistant), Berihun Zeleke (Data entry assistant/PhD student), Margaret Anderson (Data Manager), Geri Ooi (PhD surgical trainee)