Weight Loss Study

Researching the two leading types of bariatric surgery for my own personal use I came across an interesting article about VBLOC Therapy. VBLOC Therapy is still in clinical trials, however I think that this type of procedure will appeal to a greater population of people that are suffering with obesity.

Most of us have fears associated with bariatric surgery plus the drastic change that is required with our dietary needs, not to mention the cost of the surgery and care after surgery. There are a few companies that understand that the obese have very few options available and one is EnteroMedic Inc. They are developing a device using neuroblocking technology for the treatment of obesity and gastrointestinal disorders. People that are obese are searching for weight loss treatments that are not so invasive as the lap-band and Gastro-bypass surgeries.

Patients need help, said John Morton, director of Bariatric Surgery and an associate professor at Stanford School of Medicine. Diet and exercise fails 95% of the time.

With VBLOC Therapy there is a device that uses high frequency, low voltage signals sent to implanted leads that were attached to the vagal nerve laparoscopically. It takes under two hours to implant the devise and the leads can stay implanted indefinitely. Wearing an external coil/battery pack, a signal is sent through the body during the daytime and when asleep the signal is turned off. The signal helps the patients feel less hungry, and because the "gastric digestive emptying process" is delayed by the signal, patients have the feeling of being full for long stretches of time.

The clinical trials for the VBLOC implants includes 300 patients around the world. They have been using the VBLOC devise for 12 months with some very positive data. The patients lost 29 percent excess body weight because of reduced calories and the feeling of being full.

This may be another plus for the obese in their search to control their weight and their eating habits.