Science Snapshots
Teen Weight Loss Surgery Halts Type 2 Diabetes
Teens who underwent gastric bypass surgery showed dramatic, often immediate, remission of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s. The study, published in the January issue of Pediatrics, found that bariatric surgery, specifically Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, helps teens lose, on average, a third of their body weight and led to remission of the diabetes in all but one teen. The study also notes other health improvements, such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The study found that in most cases, patients can stop diabetes medications by the time they leave the hospital following surgery, says Thomas Inge, MD, PhD, surgical director of Cincinnati Children’s Surgical Weight Loss Program for Teens and lead author of the study.
A new study by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s has identifi ed which children — based on their genetic makeup — might be most susceptible to environmental triggers for asthma. The findings show that children with a particular form of gene are more likely to have persistent wheezing if exposed to diesel exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke or mold by 24 months of age. The research, published online in the Journal of Pediatrics, is believed to be the first to investigate the interplay between genes and complex environmental factors on wheezing, over time, in early childhood. Understanding which factors contribute to persistent wheezing in early childhood is an important step in advancing our understanding of asthma, says Gurjit Khurana Hershey, MD, PhD, director of asthma research at Cincinnati Children’s and senior author of the study.
According to a study by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s, children in the United States who are exposed to tobacco smoke before birth and also exposed to environmental lead during childhood face a particularly high risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “Tobacco and lead exposure together seem to have a synergetic, negative effect,” says Tanya Froehlich, MD, a physician in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s and the study’s lead author. “Our study estimates that 35 percent of ADHD in children between the ages of 8 and 15 could be reduced by eliminating both environmental exposures.” The researchers found that children exposed to tobacco smoke before birth had a greater than twofold increase in odds of ADHD.
