This is an image of ‘surgery in a pill’ in the intestine. Credit: Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Randal Mckenzie

Over the last decade, bariatric surgeons have made strides in performing weight loss surgery that not only reverses obesity but can also reverse type 2 diabetes in patients with both conditions.

Despite dramatic improvements in quality of life and diabetes remission, the number of patients who pursue surgery remains relatively low, according to Ali Tavakkoli, MD, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery at BWH.

This prompted a collaboration between Tavakkoli and Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers to find a less invasive but equally effective treatment for reversing type 2 diabetes, one that can offer the same benefits as surgery but that may have wider appeal and application.

The team reports on results of a preclinical study in which an oral agent was administered in rats to deliver a substance that could temporarily coat the intestine to prevent nutrient contact with the lining in the proximal bowel and avoid post-meal spikes in blood sugar.