Gastric Bypass Can Lead to Neurological Complications
Patients who have undergone gastric bypass surgery risk neurological damage from nutritional deficiencies, according to a report recently published in Neurology. Investigators describe 26 patients who sought treatment for major neurological complications related to gastric bypass surgery.
The patients experienced problems involving different regions of the nervous system, ranging from encephalopathy and optic neuropathy to myelopathy. All of the patients had multiple nutritional deficiencies, but investigators could not correlate complications with specific nutritional deficiencies, except for deficits in vitamin B-12 and copper in the case of myelopathy.
Because gastric bypass surgery causes shortened digestive transit time and anatomical changes, patients' post-surgical nutrition must be carefully managed, the authors say.
