A Pilot Study Evaluating Exenatide for the Treatment of Postprandial Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia Post-RYGB

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) is one of the most common bariatric surgeries in the United States and is generally highly effective for weight loss. Unfortunately, among the potential complications is hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. Though the prevalence of this disorder has not been fully characterized, it can be associated with debilitating symptoms which severely impact quality of life and can be life-threatening. The underlying pathophysiology of hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia likely involves a mismatch in the amount of insulin secreted in response to mealtime carbohydrate absorption. It has been observed that the ingestion of a high carbohydrate load often leads to a modest rise in post-prandial glucose levels followed by an inappropriately exaggerated insulin release among individuals with this condition. Low carbohydrate diet sometimes provides full or partial relief of the symptoms.

Standard medical management for RYGB associated postprandial hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia includes acarbose, which partially reduces carbohydrate absorption from the gut, and diazoxide, which directly inhibits insulin release from pancreatic beta cells. However, the medical options are not reliably effective, leading some individuals to reverse RYGB, which also may not be effective, or even undergo partial pancreatectomy, risking additional complications such as diabetes. Much more reliably effective treatments are needed for this special population who develop this bariatric surgical complication.

Potential mechanisms contributing to the mismatched insulin secretion post RYGB include decreased systemic and adipose tissue inflammation, and increased insulin receptor expression in liver and skeletal muscle, and increases in adiponectin.