Device Blocking Stomach Nerve Signals Shows Promise in Obesity

A new implantable medical device, developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic researchers, shows promise as a reversible and less extreme alternative to existing bariatric surgeries, according to findings published in the current issue of the journal Surgery.

In a six-month open label trial involving three medical centers in Australia, Mexico and Norway, the 31 obese participants who received the vagal nerve blocking device, also called VBLOCTM vagal blocking therapy, lost an average of nearly 15 percent of their excess weight. A quarter of the participants lost more than 25 percent, and three patients lost more than 30 percent.

In the next study, which has already begun, all patients will have the device implanted, but one-third will not have it turned on during the first year of the study, so that after meals, it won’t be blocking the nerve signals; this is called ’sham’ treatment. This new work will lead to a more realistic comparison of the magnitude of weight loss through vagal blockade as compared with bariatric surgery. read more