Weight-loss surgery produces unexpected drop in heart disease risk, Stanford resear...( protein levels which dropped from 10 m...),Health

Interestingly, the improvements went beyond what would have been expected due to weight loss alone. "We're not sure why, but the process of bypassing the stomach might induce some changes in both lipid and inflammatory metabolism," Morton said.

The lowering of cardiac risk factors was especially compelling given the patients' dire condition before their surgery, Williams said. "The study showed that these patients were at great risk of heart disease before their surgery. Their risk factors were even higher than we had expected," he said.

"I think our findings show that this is not in any sense a cosmetic procedure - that it really does benefit the health of these patients," Williams added.

'"/>

Contact: Rosanne Spector
rosanne.spector@stanford.edu
650-725-5374
Stanford University Medical Center
30-Jun-2005