Changes in the intestine are a key contributor to the effectiveness of gastric bypass surgery in controlling the symptoms of diabetes, researchers from a French pubic research body have stated.

A study on mice published in the September issue of the journal Cell Metabolism suggests that the procedure results in the production of more blood sugar by the upper small intestine.

Gilles Mithieux, of Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale in France, states that gastric bypass effectively creates a "double intestine".

As such, the positional changes effected by the procedure result in the lower small intestine - which does not normally produce much glucose - being placed closer to the stomach, causing it to act in a similar fashion to the upper portion, he adds.

"Up to now, the intestine had been considered like a machine to assimilate nutrients. We've now begun to realise that it is a complex endocrine organ," Mr Mithieux concludes.

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