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Cheating the brain: a new way to cure obesity
Last reviewed: 05.10.2018
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Scientists have found an interesting and effective way to cure obesity, without resorting to diets and without changing the way of life.
Leading US specialists have discovered: if you block the vagus nerve, you can achieve a stable decrease in appetite and, as a result, the loss of excess kilograms. In this case, it is easier and safer to lock with freezing.
Representatives of the College of Medicine at Emory University, the University of New York in Buffalo and the Medical Center at the University of Pennsylvania have experimentally proved the possibility of using this method. The study involved dozens of patients suffering from different degrees of obesity.
Each participant underwent a procedure with application of low temperatures: the rear trunk of the vagus nerve was subjected to frost-it was through him that the brain received signals about the need to take food. The frost occurred as follows: a needle was inserted at a specific site on the back of the patient, through which cryogenic argon entered the tissue, freezing the necessary segment of the nerve. After the procedure, specialists observed the well-being of the subjects for three months.
According to the results of the research work, all participants who underwent the procedure had a steady decrease in their food cravings. The body weight of patients decreased by an average of 3.6%, and the BMI decreased by 14%. However, doctors did not notice any side effects or health problems after the freezing procedure. Experts recognized this method of treatment as safe and uniquely effective.
"Medical statistics argue that a larger number of schemes and programs aimed at stabilizing body weight do not ultimately result in the necessary result - especially if the program provides for any restrictions in the use of food. Emptiness in the stomach is a signal for the body, which begins to actively demand food and includes "saving mode", - explains the head of the research project David Prologue. According to the scientist, this experiment made it possible to reduce the intensity of the signal transmitted by the empty stomach into the corresponding structures of the brain.
Specialists note that the study is only the first attempt to solve the problem with the help of freezing. Further, more large-scale studies will follow, involving more patients and a longer period of follow-up and monitoring of participants' health.
The scientists provided all the information about the research conducted at the regular congress, initiated by the Society of Interventional Radiology.
Also on the progress of the work can be found at www.sirweb.org/advocacy-and-outreach/media/news-release-archive/sir-2018-cryovagotomy-032118/
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