Kieren G. Hollingsworth1,
Ee Lin Lim1, Benjamin S. Aribisala1, Mei Jun Chen1,
John C. Mathers2,
1Newcastle
Magnetic Resonance Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne
& Wear, United Kingdom; 2Institute of Human Nutrition, Newcastle
University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, United Kingdom
Type 2 diabetes is regarded as a chronic progressive condition, but is clearly reversible following bariatric surgery. We hypothesised that the reversal was due to calorie restriction rather than the effect of surgery on gut hormones, as is widely supposed. Eleven subjects with type 2 diabetes followed a very low calorie diet for 8 weeks. MR measurements demonstrated that a 75% fall in liver fat was accompanied by an decrease in hepatic insulin resistance and a 20% fall in pancreas fat was accompanied by an increase in peak insulin secretion rate to normal levels. Type 2 diabetes is reversible.
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