BACKGROUND & AIMS: Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) induce substantial weight loss and improve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes, but it is not clear whether these occur via the same mechanisms. We compared absorption rates of glucose and protein, as well as profiles of gastro-entero-pancreatic hormones, in patients who had undergone SG or RYGB vs controls.
METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 12 patients who had undergone sleeve gastrectomy, 12 patients who had undergone RYGB, and 12 individuals who had undergone neither surgery (controls), all in Denmark. Study participants were matched for body mass index, age, sex, and postoperative weight loss, and all had stable weights. They received continuous infusions of stable isotopes of glucose, glycerol, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and urea before and during a mixed meal containing labeled glucose and intrinsically phenylalanine-labeled caseinate. Blood samples were collected for 6 hours, at 10- to 60-minute intervals, and analyzed.
RESULTS: The systemic appearance of ingested glucose was faster after RYGB and SG vs controls; the peak glucose appearance rate was 64% higher after RYGB, and 23% higher after SG (both P < .05); the peak phenylalanine appearance rate from ingested casein was 118% higher after RYGB (P < .01), but similar between patients who had undergone SG and controls. Larger, but more transient increases in levels of plasma glucose and amino acids were accompanied by higher secretion of insulin, glucagon-like peptide 1, peptide YY, and cholecystokinin after RYGB, whereas levels of ghrelin were lower after SG, compared with RYGB and controls. Total 6-hour oral recovery of ingested glucose and protein was comparable among groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Postprandial glucose and protein absorption and gastro-entero-pancreatic hormone secretions differ after SG and RYGB. RYGB was characterized by accelerated absorption of glucose and amino acids, whereas protein metabolism after SG did not differ significantly from controls, suggesting that different mechanisms explain improved glycemic control and weight loss after these surgical procedures. ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03046186.
