GLP-2 Peptide Analog Enabled a Patient with Short Bowel Syndrome to Stop IV Nutrition After a Decade

What the researchers found

Teduglutide therapy in a patient with short bowel syndrome requiring home parenteral nutrition led to significant clinical and nutritional improvement: 70% reduction in parenteral nutrition requirements, spontaneous closure of enterocutaneous fistulas, and sufficient intestinal adaptation to enable surgical bowel reconstruction.

Following surgery, the patient achieved full enteral autonomy — completely independent of intravenous nutrition. She later developed grade 1 obesity, highlighting the completeness of the nutritional recovery. The case demonstrates teduglutide's potential as a bridging therapy that can create conditions for surgical intervention and ultimate intestinal independence.

Why it matters

Short bowel syndrome is a devastating condition where patients cannot absorb enough nutrition from food and depend on intravenous feeding — often for life. Teduglutide is the first non-symptomatic treatment that can actually restore intestinal function. This case demonstrates its potential as a 'bridge to surgery' — improving the gut enough to enable surgical reconstruction that wasn't previously possible. The dramatic outcome — from IV nutrition dependence to full food independence — illustrates the transformative potential of GLP-2 peptide therapy.

How the study worked

Single patient case report documenting a 10-year clinical course of a 62-year-old woman with short bowel syndrome. The case tracks her progression from home parenteral nutrition dependence through teduglutide initiation, clinical response monitoring, surgical reconstruction, and achievement of full enteral autonomy.

What this study cannot tell us

This is a single case report, which cannot establish generalizability. The specific surgical anatomy and SBS characteristics may have contributed to the favorable outcome. The 10-year timeframe involved multiple interventions, making it difficult to attribute all improvements solely to teduglutide. The development of obesity post-treatment raises questions about long-term management and metabolic consequences. Long-term safety data for extended teduglutide use remain limited.

How to read the evidence

This is a single case report providing the lowest level of clinical evidence. However, it demonstrates a dramatic and clinically meaningful outcome that illustrates the therapeutic potential of teduglutide in an individual patient context.

When this study was published

Published in 2026, this case report describes a decade-long patient journey and reflects the current state of GLP-2 analog therapy in clinical practice.

The bigger picture

While GLP-1 drugs dominate headlines for diabetes and obesity, the GLP-2 analog teduglutide represents another success story in peptide therapeutics — restoring intestinal function in one of medicine's most challenging nutritional conditions. The growing understanding of how gut-derived peptide hormones can regenerate and adapt intestinal tissue has implications beyond short bowel syndrome, potentially informing treatments for other intestinal conditions.

Questions still open

• What proportion of SBS patients on teduglutide can achieve full enteral autonomy like this patient?
• Should teduglutide be routinely considered as a bridge therapy before surgical reconstruction in SBS?
• How should obesity risk be managed in SBS patients who achieve nutritional independence after teduglutide therapy?

Common questions

Read the original research

3, 2, 1! From GLP-2 to GLP-1 analog over a 10-year journey.

Endocrinologia, diabetes y nutricion, 73(1), 501662

Citation

Tapia-Sanchiz, María Sara; Sampedro-Núñez, Miguel Antonio; Jiménez-Blanco, Sara; Molina-Baena, Begoña. (2026). 3, 2, 1! From GLP-2 to GLP-1 analog over a 10-year journey.. Endocrinologia, diabetes y nutricion, 73(1), 501662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endien.2025.501662