Dr Rehan Haidry and his team at the Cleveland Clinic in London have been involved in a groundbreaking study to investigate if Radio-Frequency Vapour Ablation (RFVA) could help people with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D).
Dr Haidry has used the technology to pioneer a new innovative and ground breaking procedure called PIMA – Proximal intestinal mucosal ablation.
“RFVA is an FDA-approved endoscopic procedure which uses a catheter to reach the duodenum, part of the small intestine,” explains Dr Haidry, “The RFVA technique essentially “zaps” the area to help improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels. It’s like giving the small intestine a fresh start.”
An initial trial involved 27 patients (average age 54) who, despite being on at least one oral antidiabetic drug, struggled to keep their blood sugar under control. The main goals of the study were to assess safety, tolerability, and initial efficacy of the RFVA PIMA method. The procedure was a technical success in 100% of cases, with no serious adverse events reported. Moreover, patients tolerated the procedure well, reporting minimal pain and discomfort, and impressive metabolic improvement at 6 months.
Dr Haidry adds: “With PIMA, we can treat up to 60cm of the small bowel to mimic the length of bowel excluded in more invasive metabolic procedures like surgery with Roux and Y gastric bypass. In 45 mins, with a minimally invasive sedated day case endoscopy procedure, we are seeing improvements in metabolic health that are tremendous and will change the paradigm of the treatment for T2D.”
The big question before the study was: does it work to tackle T2D? The answer seems to be a resounding yes. After undergoing the RFVA procedure, there were significant reductions in HbA1c, fasting glucose, and post-meal blood sugar levels at both 12 and 24 weeks after the procedure. In short, patients saw remarkable improvements in their diabetes management.
To date the Cleveland Clinic has treated over 50 patients with T2DM with PIMA, including those on insulin and already shown remarkable results (including cessation of insulin in some cases) after RFVA
Could this be the dawn of a new era in diabetes treatment? Only time will tell. For now, it’s clear that RFVA shows great promise, but larger studies with more patients will be needed to prove if RFVA could solve the global diabetes epidemic.