Laparoscopic metabolic surgery for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Asia: a scoping review and evidence-based analysis.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic metabolic surgery has been previously shown to be an effective treatment for obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The objective of this scoping review is to determine the impact of metabolic surgery for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Asia and perform an evidence-based analysis. METHODS: We performed a literature search in PubMed for research on laparoscopic metabolic surgery for the treatment of T2DM in Asia region. We classified the included studies based on the Oxford Center for Evidence Based Medicine guidelines. And performed and evidence analysis. RESULTS: In total, 205 articles were identified. 62.9% of the studies were from East Asia. The evidence of 26 studies are level I, 59 are level II. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) was the most commonly reported surgical procedure (63.1%) in Asia. The number of laparoscopic metabolic surgery for T2DM in Asian countries has increased rapidly over the last 8 years. We identified 16 studies which showed that laparoscopic metabolic surgery is an effective and safe treatment for T2DM in patients with a BMI of > 25 kg/m2 to < 35 kg/m2 in Asia. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that laparoscopic metabolic surgery might be an effective and safe treatment for T2DM patients with BMI < 35 kg/m2, and that LSG is the most commonly performed surgical procedure for this in Asia.

A bridging SF/Alg composite scaffold loaded NGF for spinal cord injury repair.

Neurons loss and axons degeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) gradually give rise to result in functional motor and sensory impairment. A bridging biomaterial scaffold that allows the axons to grow through has been investigated for the repair of injured spinal cord. In this study, we introduced a silk fibroin (SF)-based neurobridge as scaffold enriched with/without nerve growth factor (NGF) that can be utilized as a therapeutic approach for spinal cord repair. NGF released from alginate (Alg) microspheres on SF scaffold (SF/Alg composites scaffolds) to the central lesion site of SCI significantly enhanced the sparing of spinal cord tissue and increased the number of surviving neurons. This optimal multi-disciplinary approach of combining biomaterials, controlled-release microspheres and neurotrophic factors offers a promising treatment for the injured spinal cord.