Congratulations to Carlow University Trustee Anita Courcoulas, MD, MPH, a professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Surgery and chief of the Minimally Invasive Bariatric Surgery Program at UPMC, for the recent publication of her research in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
In a University of Pittsburgh news release about the study, Dr. Courcoulas was quoted as saying, “The analysis is the strongest evidence we have to date that bariatric surgery is a safe and effective tool for achieving diabetes control and remission.”
The study, of which Dr. Courcoulas was the lead author, was the largest and longest randomized follow-up study to date. It found that bariatric surgery improved patients’ cholesterol and triglyceride levels more effectively than medical and lifestyle modifications. Further, it pointed out that since diabetes and cholesterol are important risk factors for heart disease, bariatric surgery may contribute to patients having fewer heart attacks, strokes, and other complications.
The analysis used data from randomized clinical trials performed at Pitt, Cleveland Clinic, Joslin Diabetes Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the University of Washington and Kaiser Permanente Washington. In all, 355 patients with Type 2 diabetes were included in the study.
