Patients with type 2 diabetes testing simple new gut procedure that could improve control of blood sugar

Type 2 diabetes could be better managed with a simple outpatient procedure in the gut, according to a doctor in the United States

The procedure, which involves killing cells in the small intestine, could allow patients with diabetes to take fewer drugs, and is undergoing testing

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A clinical trial is under way that could pave the way for type 2 diabetes patients to better manage their condition – through a procedure that uses a part of the body’s small intestine. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:00pm, 4 Feb 2020Updated: 6:43pm, 5 Feb 2020

Gregory Ginsberg, a doctor at the Penn Medicine institute in Philadelphia in the US state of Pennsylvania, is exploring a new frontier in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. He’s co-leading a clinical trial at Penn that is testing whether killing cells on the inner surface of the duodenum – the first part of the small intestine immediately past the stomach – can lead to better control of blood sugar in people with diabetes.

Early work done in South America and Europe has found that the outpatient procedure, called duodenal mucosal resurfacing (DMR), reduced A1C, a long-term measure of blood sugar; reduced the need for insulin; and reduced liver fat in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

While not a cure, the procedure done through an endoscope could allow patients with diabetes to take fewer drugs and is another sign, Ginsberg said, that cells in the duodenum play an important role in the body’s metabolic communication system between the gut and the brain.

Penn is now one of five US institutions taking part in a small pilot study of the procedure. Results are not yet available, but Ginsberg said the previous research has made him hopeful that he is studying a “transformative” procedure.

Gregory Ginsberg is co-leading the clinical trial at Penn. Photo: courtesy of Gregory Ginsberg

“This research is compelling because it harnesses the untapped potential of the luminal digestive tract in the management of health and disease,” Ginsberg said. “Moreover, it is provocative in its application of minimally invasive endoscopic therapy to treat a metabolic condition.”

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