- Scientists in Brazil found gastric bypass surgery can affect brain activity
- Found the operation curbed changes in the brain associated with obesity
- They noted improvements in planning, strategising and organising
- Researchers also found evidence operation could reduce risk of Alzheimer’s
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Weight-loss surgery can also reap positive effects on brain activity, new research suggests.
The team of scientists behind the study also said there is evidence the operations could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
They found the procedures can curb changes in the brain associated with weight gain and improve cognitive function involved in planning, strategising and organising.
A new study by scientists in Brazil has found evidence that weight-loss surgery can help improve brain function. They found gastric bypass procedures can curb changes in the brain that are associated with obesity
Bariatric
surgery is generally used as a last resort to help people who are
dangerously overweight.
It involves either reducing the size of the
stomach or shortening the distance food travels through the digestive
tract – limiting the time it has to be absorbed.
The procedures, available on the NHS, are known to be highly effective in cases of serious obesity.
But they also appear to have a positive influence on brain activity, according to the new findings.
A
study of the impact of bariatric surgery on 17 obese women found it
produced distinct improvements in mental functions linked to planning,
strategy and organisation.
Professor
Cintia Cercato, from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, said: ‘When
we studied obese women prior to bariatric surgery, we found some areas
of their brains metabolised sugars at a
higher rate than normal weight women.
‘In
particular, obesity led to altered activity in a part of the brain
linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease – the posterior
cingulate gyrus. Since bariatric surgery reversed this activity, we
suspect the procedure may contribute to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s
disease and other forms of dementia.’
Past research has shown that obese individuals are 35 per cent more at risk of developing Alzheimer’s than people of normal weight.
The new
research focused on a procedure known as a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
(RYBG) which combines the two types of bariatric surgery.
Brain scans and a range of psychological
tests were used to assess its effect over a period of six months.
Results
from the obese women were compared with those from a ‘control’ group of
16 lean women who did not undergo bariatric surgery.
The researchers also noted evidence the surgery reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
The
scans showed that the excessive brain activity regarding sugar seen in the obese women
disappeared after the procedure.
Six months post-surgery, brain
metabolism levels were similar in both groups of women.
In addition, bariatric surgery seemed to improve the performance of the obese women in a test of ‘executive function’.
This
is the brain’s ability to connect past experience and current action,
and is involved in planning, organising and making strategic decisions.
Other tests measuring various aspects of memory and thinking ability showed no change after bariatric surgery.
The results appear in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism, published by the Endocrine Society.
Professor Cercato said: ‘Our findings suggest the brain is another organ that benefits from weight loss induced by surgery.
‘The
increased brain activity the obese women exhibited before undergoing
surgery did not result in improved cognitive performance, which suggests
obesity may force the brain to work harder to achieve the same level of
cognition.’
Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity, said: ‘Although obesity has been linked to an increased risk of dementia, this very small study doesn’t tell us whether weight loss surgery could prevent the condition.
‘This research involved people in their 40s and did not look at dementia, and we don’t know whether the changes in brain activity seen in this study would affect a person’s risk of developing the condition.
‘The people included in this research were severely obese, so it’s hard to know how these results might relate to people whose obesity does not warrant this type of surgery.
‘Continued investment in research is important if we are to fully understand the mechanisms underlying the links between obesity and increased dementia risk.
‘A better understanding of how factors such as obesity may affect our risk of dementia could give us important clues for preventing the condition.
‘In the meantime, research shows we can lower our risk of dementia by eating a healthy, balanced diet, exercising regularly, not smoking, and keeping blood pressure and weight in check.’
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