Weekly Wellness Spotlight

Dear Julie,

For this week’s wellness spotlight, we highlight another great article Dr. Susan Summerton posted to our OWNS facebook site.

Behaviour change, weight loss and remission of Type 2 diabetes: a community-based prospective cohort study
H. Dambha-Miller A. J. Day J. Strelitz G. Irving S. J. Griffin
First published: 03 September 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.14122

Dieting doesn’t have to be drastic to reverse Type 2 diabetes.

Conclusion

In a population-based sample of adults with screen-detected Type 2 diabetes, weight loss of
≥10% early in the disease trajectory was associated with a doubling of the likelihood of remission at 5 years. This was achieved without intensive lifestyle interventions or extreme calorie restrictions. Greater attention should be paid to enabling people to achieve weight loss following diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

What’s new?

Biochemical remission of Type 2 diabetes in the absence of pharmacological or surgical intervention has been shown to be achievable.
This has been previously demonstrated in short-term studies and only in selected populations
through intensive weight loss programmes.
We found that weight loss of ≥10% in the first few years after diagnosis was strongly associated with remission of Type 2 diabetes at 5 years.
This was achieved without intensive lifestyle interventions or extreme calorie restrictions.
Our findings should inform discussions with people who have newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes as a motivation towards remission of the disease without restrictive and sometimes unachievable calorie restrictions.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dme.14122

 


MORE REASON TO LOVE OMEGA 3’S

Oral Omega-3 Supplementation Lowers Intraocular Pressure in Normotensive Adults
Laura Elizabeth Downie; Algis Jonas Vingrys

Abstract
Purpose: Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the major modifiable risk factor for the
sight-threatening eye disease, glaucoma. We investigated whether oral omega-3 supplements affect IOP in normotensive adults.

Methods: We undertook a pooled analysis of data from two double-masked, placebo-controlled randomized trials (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12614001019695, ACTRN12615000173594) that investigated the efficacy and safety of oral omega-3 supplementation for treating ocular surface inflammation. Recruitment involved adults (n = 105) with IOP <21 mm Hg, and without a current or prior glaucoma diagnosis. Participants were randomly allocated to either an oral omega-3 (∼1000 mg/day eicosapentaenoic acid + ∼500 mg/day docosahexaenoic acid ± 900 mg/day α-linolenic acid) or placebo (olive oil, 1500 mg/day) supplement. IOP was quantified at baseline and after 3 months of supplementation (day 90). Change in IOP, relative to baseline, was compared between groups.

Results: At baseline, participants were of similar age (omega-3/placebo groups: mean ± SEM, 33.7 ± 1.7, n = 72/35.6 ± 3.0 years, n = 33), sex (65%/79% female), and had similar IOP (14.3 ± 0.3/13.8 ± 0.5 mm Hg). At day 90, IOP was reduced to 13.6 ± 0.3 mm Hg in the omega-3 group; controls had a slight IOP increase to 14.2 ± 0.4 mm Hg (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Oral omega-3 supplementation for 3 months significantly reduced IOP in normotensive adults. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report that omega-3 fatty acids lower IOP in humans.

Translational Relevance: These findings justify further investigation into the therapeutic potential of omega-3 supplementation for reducing IOP, to prevent and/or treat conditions with IOP elevation, including ocular hypertension and glaucoma.

https://tvst.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2680625

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