Weight loss surgery can have positive effects on the brain, new research shows.
For the study, researchers examined the impact of a particular kind of bariatric surgery known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) on the brain function of 17 obese women. The brain functions of the participants were tested using positron emission tomography (PET) scans and neuropsychological tests before the surgery and six months after the procedure. A group of 16 healthy women were also subjected to the test.
"When we studied obese women prior to bariatric surgery, we found some areas of their brains metabolized sugars at a higher rate than normal weight women," study author Dr Cintia Cercato, of the University of São Paolo in Brazil, said in a press release. Dr Cercato explained that obesity, in particular, caused altered activity in a part of the brain associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease - the posterior cingulate gyrus. "Since bariatric surgery reversed this activity, we suspect the procedure may contribute to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia."
Researchers found that after surgery, obese women had better scores on a test measuring executive function, which is helpful in planning, organizing and strategizing. Five other neuropsychological tests measuring different aspects of memory and cognitive function did not yield any results.
"Our findings suggest the brain is another organ that benefits from weight loss induced by surgery," Cercato concluded. "The increased brain activity the obese women exhibited before undergoing surgery did not result in improved cognitive performance, which suggests obesity may force the brain to work harder to achieve the same level of cognition."
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
