SubscribeComing Soon: The Weight Loss Implant
Picture yourself dining on a plate of pasta when several minutes into your meal, you feel a fluttering sensation in your stomach telling you you've had enough. That fluttering sensation is an electrode and will probably be on the market within 2 years.
The Tantalus II is based on new technology called Gastric Contractility Modulation (GCM) and works by attaching electrodes to the top of the stomach where food comes in, and to the bottom where food lands. During a meal, when food hits the bottom of the stomach, the device sends a signal to the brain that you're stuffed. Apparently, the device monitors the individuals' food intake by sensing gastric activity and can automatically adapt to a treatment protocol set out by the doctor. People with the device eat as little as a quarter of what they would normally consume.
So what have early trials demonstrated? Some pretty promising results. In the journal Obesity Surgery, 12 subjects lost an average of 20 pounds in the first 20 weeks and those who continued the trial for the full year lost 37. Blood pressure and blood glucose levels have also been reported to be improved significantly. It is also noteworthy that some discomfort and pain has been noted amongst patients.
Also on the implantable device horizon is a device called Maestro. This little gizmo periodically blocks transmission on the digestion-controlling vagus nerve. Limited study data suggests it may trigger significant weight loss. A bigger, yearlong randomized study is underway which could put the company on track for U.S. approval in the middle of 2010. If you are thinking of this device, however, better put off plans to buy that car or pay for your kid's tuition as the estimated cost will be around $21 000.
I think this type of technology has the potential to revolutionize the weight loss industry as it appears to be a safe, less invasive alternative to gastric bypass surgery. Time will tell.
Interestingly, this was blogged about almost 5 years ago here when the technology was really in its infancy.
Side note: Researchers for the Tantalus II device need more people to take part in the study. For more info, contact the Diabetes and Glandular Diseases Center at 210-692-1377 or 210-615-5555.
It seems safer than gastric. I wonder if insurances will start to pay... gastric isn't cheap either, and can lead to a lot of medical problems that require even more pay out.
I would never use it (and I doubt it will be encouraged/allowed in people of my size anymore than gastric is), but I think it's a good development.
Replywhat will they think of next ? 21,000 to lose 37 # I can buy a lot of nice exercise equipment and a personal trainer and still have enough leftover for lunch. by the way can this band-aid tell the difference between healthy food and junk food.
ReplyNow all I need is an implant that will do exercise for me and I'll be set.
ReplyIs it going to be able to distinguish the difference between having a stomach full of veggies vs. chocolate chip cookies? If it's not somehow calorie sensitive I'm not sure I get the benefit. I think I'd be better off putting alarms on my fridge and pantry doors that would go off when I "think" I'm hungry after 8 p.m.!
ReplyI'm wondering the same thing, soozee...I can eat a lot of veggies and fruit, yet I'm thin. But I know a woman who's had GB and her stomach's tiny, yet she's become obese again because she subsists on milkshakes and things like chocolate and potato chips (she's not a dumper, apparently).
ReplyI drink a lot of water. This thing is going to tell me I am full?
ReplyThis fascinates me because it meets both my geeky interest in anything gadgety, and my slight obsessiveness about all things food. :-)
However, I'd be a bit concerned that it would be a poor long-term fix. Would people end up stuffing themselves past the point of feeling "full" just to get enough calories? This would surely lead to massive over-eating once the Tantalus was removed.
Ali
ReplyIt was not clear to me from the post how this device worked so I looked at the article (Obesity Surgery 16:627-634, 2006) to understand the mechanism.
What the device does is senses when food enters the stomach. It then sends signals to the stomach and makes it contract in a pattern that normally occurs when the stomach is full. When this pattern of contraction occurs the brain is signaled that the stomach is full. The device itself only causes contractions of the stomach, it does not signal the brain, the stomach does that. There are electrodes in the stomach wall at the top (fundus) and the bottom (antrum) and a controller.
The device was tested on those with eating disorders. It is unlikely that it would lead to calorie deficiency, when used on those who have trouble stopping eating, as it should just make them eat less. It does not speed stomach emptying so food would be properly digested. The device does not cause as restricted food intake as much as the current surgical procedures. There is no physical restriction of the stomach in any way, just setting up a particular pattern of contractions, so it does not limit the stomach to a set volume as banding and stapling does.
When the device is removed it is likely that the new eating patterns would last for at least a while. There is unlikely to be an immediate rebound effect.
It would not distinguish between high and low calorie foods. However, since it would probably only be approved for those with eating disorders or morbid obesity, the a lack of discrimination of calorie content is unlikley to be a major consideration.
The surgery required would be much lower risk than the current Roux-en-Y, etc. It is inserted by laporoscopy.
Hope this is helpful
ReplyBut how will this help someone who eats - but not because they are hungry? A person may be full, but still stuffs themselves for emotional or other reasons?
I can't honestly say that I have eaten recently because I was hungry. It was either meal time, or I needed a fix. I think certain foods are drugs to me. And I am not blaming that on anyone - but me.
ReplyIt's hard to eat too long past your brain saying you are full... though some can mess up those sensors so they don't show. I think that's what this does - gives a sensor there.
Then there's those who don't overeat for emotional reasons. My DH, for example, never feels full no matter how much he eats and usually feels hungry. Whereas I will get full before eating a restaurant meal, he'll down his and then go after mine. If I make enough food that there's leftovers (so I can have some for lunch the next day) it will all be eaten. It's not emotionally charged-- just that he's always hungry.
It wouldn't be perfect, but then, neither is gastric. Plenty of people get gastric and gain the weight back, plus some - anyways. But it would simulate that somewhat with less health risk.
ReplyI can see it being a better option than gastric bypass surgery. I know when they do the surgery, they HAVE to make the pouch really really tiny because it actually stretches a bit over time, which is why the patients have such a hard time getting enough calories in at first. But with a device like this, I suppose you would be able to transform people who overeat into people who DO legitimately stop when they are full. I wonder if they tested this device in bulimics because I know that when I was having my own issues with bulimia, I sure as hell didn't stop eating when I was full and there wasn't a whole lot that could stop me during a binge. So if this was tested successfully in that group of people, I could see it working on a lot of people that just don't have a good sense of stopping when they are full. Plus, there wouldn't be the side effects of the whole malabsorption thing.
ReplyThe senses of sight and smell can be more overpowering then the sense of being full. I know people who say they are full but continue to eat. For example on a cruise ship or at any buffet some people eat until they are sick. Feeling full does not stop them from eating.
Replywww.orb24.com
I suspect those people are already fat/obese and aren't into disciplined eating in the first place. Those of us who are don't need a gimmick like this.
ReplyWhy bother taking responsibility for your food choices and portions when you can just have another apparatus tell you when you're done? It seems to me that Americans don't want to think for themselves anymore. They just want to be told what to do and how to do it.
Lola Kern of Internal Energy Plus
ReplyI'm okay with this. Some sort of drastic retraining of our bodies may be necessary because, obviously, something has gone haywire. I'm assuming this will go hand in hand w. nutrition training.
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