Current Research
The surgeons of the Minimally Invasive Bariatric and General Surgery Program at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC of UPMC are involved in national and international research studying the effects and outcomes of bariatric surgery, as well as the biochemical mechanisms of obesity. One of these high-profile studies is the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) study.
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will begin enrolling participants for the second phase of the study. LABS is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded consortium conducting clinical research in bariatric surgery.
The popularity of bariatric surgery procedures is on the rise. The American Society of Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) indicates that the number of bariatric surgical procedures increased from about 16,000 in the early 1990s to more than 103,000 in 2003. Despite the rise in the number of procedures, research in this area is lacking.
The National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) initiated the LABS study in 2003. Since then, experts in bariatric surgery, obesity research, internal medicine, endocrinology, behavioral science, epidemiology, and other relevant fields have coordinated to plan and conduct studies to analyze the risks and benefits of bariatric surgery and its impact on the health and well-being of patients with morbid obesity.
The study, which anticipates enrolling several thousand participants, is comprised of two phases, LABS-1 and LABS-2. Locally, LABS-1, began enrolling patients at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Feb. 14, 2005. Nationwide, over 1,000 participants have been enrolled in this initial phase, which follows participants for 30 days post-surgery to evaluate the short-term safety of the procedure. The second phase, LABS-2, began enrolling participants at UPMC on Feb. 27, 2006. LABS-2 will follow participants for two years or more after surgery, collecting additional clinical information in order to evaluate the longer-term safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery in diverse groups of patients.
Institutional involvement in this study was on a competitive basis. Other participant clinical centers include East Carolina University, Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, New York Columbia-Presbyterian / Cornell University Medical Center, Oregon Health and Sciences University, and the University of Washington. In addition, the Data Coordinating Center for the entire project is located in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh.
For information about the LABS study, call 412-641-3647.