Two studies show that gastric bypass surgery has better long-term results compared with sleeve gastrectomy and "lap-band" surgery.
The benefits of gastric bypass include greater weight loss, resolution of diabetes and improved quality of life, according to the two reports published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery.
The findings were announced less than a week after the Food & Drug Administration approved Allergan Inc.‘s (NYSE:AGN) Lap-Band gastric banding system for less-obese patients.
One study, by doctors at Min-Sheng General Hospital, National Taiwan University, found that 93 percent of its subjects treated with gastric-bypass lost more than 40 percent of their excess weight, compared with 31 percent of Lab-Band recipients. The study also found that Type 2 diabetes remission and quality of life were also better for gastric-bypass patients.
Another study, designed by University of California, San Francisco, professor Eric Vittinghoff, found that Gastric bypass was also associated with fewer repeat operations than Lap-Band procedures, although overall complications were similar for both procedures. Previous research has shown that Lap-Band surgery is safer than gastric bypass.
Here’s a roundup of recent clinical trial and scientific study news:
- Neoprobe’s Phase 3 Lymphoseek study reaches accrual goal
Neoprobe Corp. (NYSE:NEOP), a diversified developer of innovative oncology surgical and diagnostic products, announced that a multi-center Phase 3 study of Lymphoseek has enrolled clinical subjects to achieve the minimum analysis goal of 196 lymph nodes, the study’s primary accrual objective. The multi-center open label study was conducted in subjects with either breast cancer or melanoma in accordance with the clinical protocol registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Read more - Endologix touts favorable initial PEVAR trial results
Endologix, Inc. (NSDQ:ELGX), developer of minimally invasive treatments for aortic disorders, announced the presentation of the initial clinical results from the PEVAR Trial at the 2011 iCON (International Congress of Endovascular Specialists) annual meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz. Among 33 patients enrolled in the Roll-In phase of the trial, technical success rates of 97 percent (access) and 100 percent (endovascular repair) have been achieved, with no major adverse events observed. Patients were discharged from the hospital at an average of 1.4 days following the procedure.
Read more - Intrinsic enrolls first patient in Barricaid trial
Intrinsic Therapeutics Inc., a developer of novel lumbar spine anulus closure devices, enrolled the first patient in a Randomized Clinical Trial of its Barricaid device. Barricaid is designed to prevent reherniations following lumbar discectomy, while allowing the surgeon to retain as much of the native nucleus as possible preserving normal disc height and biomechanics. Barricaid accomplishes this by providing the added security of a bone-anchored device that can be used to close larger anular defects or in cases where anular integrity is in question.
Read more - Stemedica wins approval from UCSD to initiate stem cell stroke study
Stemedica Cell Technologies Inc., an adult allogeneic stem cell manufacturing firm received Institutional Review Board approval from the University of California, San Diego to initiate a Stemedica clinical study entitled, "A Phase I/II, Multi-Center, Open-Label Study to Assess the Safety, Tolerability and Preliminary Efficacy of a Single Intravenous Dose of Allogeneic Mesenchymal Bone Marrow Cells to Subjects With Ischemic Stroke." This study will enroll approximately 35 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of ischemic stroke. These patients have significant functional or neurologic impairment that confines them to a wheelchair or requires home nursing care or assistance with the general activities of daily living and have received the ischemic stroke diagnosis at least six months prior to enrollment in this study. The company also won an investigational new drug (IND) approval from the FDA for the clinical trial.
Read more - Accelr8 touts preliminary results in pilot ICU study
Accelr8 Technology Corp. (AMEX:AXK) announced that clinical research collaborators at the Denver Health Medical Center received notification of acceptance for presentation of interim research results at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society. The meeting will be held in May. The presentation will describe “early look” results from a clinical pilot study that uses Accelr8’s BACcel rapid diagnostic system. The research uses specimens from ICU patients under an Institutional Review Board approved protocol with informed patient consent. Specific aims include comparison of diagnostic speed and accuracy against results from standard laboratory culturing. The BACcel system analyzes live microbial cells extracted directly from a patient specimen and eliminates the need for days of laboratory cultures.
Read more
