- A clip is attached to each ear to zap the vagus nerve with a mild electric shock
Clips that ‘tickle’ a nerve in the ear could be the secret to losing weight. Research suggests that zapping the vagus nerve here with a mild electrical current sends a signal to the brain that the stomach is full, thus curbing appetite.
Now there’s a trial underway in Russia involving 150 obese people to see if it can help them lose weight without drugs or surgery.
More than one in four adults in England are obese and a further 38 percent are overweight.
Treatment usually starts with advice about diet and increasing physical activity.
A new generation of weight-loss drugs – such as Wegovy – are also being prescribed to some obese people, defined as those with a BMI over 30, who have at least one obesity-related health condition, such as type 2 diabetes.
Clips that ‘tickle’ a nerve in the ear could be the secret to losing weight by sending a signal to the brain that the stomach is full, thus curbing appetite
The drugs – given as weekly injections – slow the movement of food in the intestines, helping you feel full longer.
Currently around 6,500 people a year undergo obesity surgery on the NHS.
This usually involves placing a band around the stomach to reduce the amount of food it can hold, or gastric bypass, which connects the top of the stomach to the small intestine, reducing the amount of calories taken out food is absorbed is reduced.
But ear tickle therapy could be a simpler approach. This involves attaching a clip to each ear to stimulate a branch of the vagus nerve.
This is an important nerve that runs through the chest and neck to the brain and is involved in controlling everything from taste and swallowing to controlling heart rate, breathing and digestion.
More than one in four adults in England are obese and a further 38 percent are overweight
In recent years, vagus nerve stimulation has become a powerful treatment for epilepsy and depression.
And animal studies have shown that stimulators that target the vagus nerve can cause weight loss by sending signals that trick the brain into thinking the stomach is full.
The trial clips are worn on both ears and connected to a battery-operated generator on the waistband. They are attached on a trial basis to the auricular concha – the shell-like cavity in the center of the ear that leads to the ear canal, where a small branch of the pinna sits. the vagus nerve is located just under the skin.
The current trial, conducted by scientists from the Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, involves obese men and women.
Half receive ten minutes of ear stimulation every day for six months before the main meal.
The rest of the groups receive a sham treatment – where they also wear the clips, but no current is passed through them to stimulate the nerve.
Volunteers are monitored to see how much weight they lose during the six-month experiment.
The results of the trial could be available later this year.
Dr. Duncan Banks, a neuroscientist at the Open University, said ear stimulation is worth investigating as a way to tackle obesity as it is non-invasive and appears safe.
“But it is not yet clear exactly how it works and at this point it is certainly not a replacement for other obesity therapies,” he said.