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Weight Loss Surgery to Fight Alzheimer

Weight Loss Surgery to Fight Alzheimer

Summary: Although the primary reason for performing bariatric surgery is to reduce weight and improve certain metabolic functions, it has proven to have several other benefits. Scientists found that weight loss surgery can control modification in cerebral activity and improve cognitive functions associated with organizational and planning skills, reducing the risk of Alzheimer.

Scientists found that weight loss surgery can improve cognitive functions in several parts of the brain.

Although the primary reason for performing bariatric surgery is to reduce weight and improve certain metabolic functions, it has proven to have several other benefits. Scientists have found that weight loss surgery can control modification in cerebral activity and improve cognitive functions associated with organizational and planning skills.

Bariatric surgery is used to help people who are dangerously overweight or obese become more slender. By limiting the amount of food that you can ingest and the amount of nutrients that you can absorb, weight loss surgery significantly slims the waistline and helps control or prevent medical problems often related to obesity.

When researchers studied a sample of obese women before weight loss surgery, they found that sugar metabolism in some parts of their brains was at higher rates than regular-sized women. Of these parts was one that is linked to the development of Alzheimer disease. After the patients underwent gastric bypass, they examined the same parts and found that sugar metabolism had been reduced. This means that obesity contributes to the advance of Alzheimer, while obesity surgery reduced the activity in that part of the brain.

The participants were also given a test to measure the capacity of their brains in multiple aspects such as the ability to link past understandings with present behaviors. It found that, after the surgery and weight loss, the women all performed better on the test.

This study, then, suggests that, in addition to its obvious effects on physical health, bariatric surgery also plays a chief role in improving mental health in obese individuals and in refining cognitive functions.

Author Info

Dr Nagi Safa

Dr Nagi Safa is a Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeon (Weight-Loss Surgeon) at the Advanced BMI in Lebanon and at the Sacred Heart Hospital of Montreal, and holds an academic appointment at the University of Montreal. Furthermore, he is involved in the training of residents and surgical fellows on how to perform advanced laparoscopic obesity surgery. In 2010, he launched the Advanced Bariatric and Metabolic Institute (Advanced BMI) in Lebanon, and has been helping hundreds of patients from all over the Middle-East through his expertise in obesity surgery. Education: Dr Safa completed his residency training at the University of Montreal General Surgery Program. He then performed a fellowship in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and Minimal Invasive Surgery (Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery), at the Sacred Heart Hospital of Montreal, which is the largest Weight Loss Surgery center in the Montreal area, and one of the busiest in Canada. Experience: During his training, and throughout his practice, Dr Safa performed more than one thousand laparoscopic procedures, including Roux en Y gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding, gastric plication and many other abdominal surgery procedures. He has a particular interest in LaparoscopicRevisional Surgery including banding, bypass and sleeve. With a keen interest in the advancement of obesity surgery and newer minimally invasive surgical techniques, Dr Safa gained experience in the single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), and offers Single Incision gastric banding and Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery. Research: His current research interests include clinical outcomes from various bariatric surgery procedures and investigations on the impact of bariatric surgery on Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome X. Memberships: Dr Safa holds professional memberships with the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons, Canadian Association of General Surgeons, Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Association for Surgical Oncology, Quebec Medical Association, Trauma Association of Canada, Association Quebecoise de Chirurgie, International College of Surgeon, and the College des Medecins du Quebec.
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