Genetic Impact on Gastro Surgery

A study has found that genetics play a role in the regulation and maintenance of body weight and may also help determine a patient's response to laparoscopic adjustable gastric binding (LAGB).

Until now, doctors have not known whether genetic factors affected a patient's response to LAGB, a type of surgery for obesity that entails placing an inflatable band around the upper stomach to create a small gastric pouch that limits food consumption and creates a feeling of fullness.

Researchers evaluated the success of 167 morbidly obese patients who had recently undergone LAGB. Each was evaluated for specific genetic variants, or single nucleotide polymorphisms, to see how each affected weight loss following this type of surgery. After six months of follow-up, subjects with a G-174G IL6 genotype lost more weight than subjects with a G-174C or C-174G genotype, while subjects with an A-866A UCP2 genotype lost more weight than subjects with a G-866G or G-866A genotype. The findings show that genetics do influence the regulation and maintenance of body weight.

The researchers, from the department of clinical and experimental medicine, University of Magna-Graecia in Catanzaro (Italy), suggest that genes may also play a role in the success of a subject's response to LAGB. Their findings were reported in the September 2005 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.