Obesity ‘game changer’ in new procedure that burns the stomach lining and destroys the hunger hormone
An experimental new weight loss procedure that ‘silences’ hunger hormones by burning part of the stomach could be a game changer in the treatment of obesity.
Doctors from North Carolina found that the technique, which involves making a small cut in the stomach, can help patients lose up to 26 pounds in just six months.
The operation reduces stomach capacity by 42 percent, resulting in a 30 percent decrease in hunger.
Experts say destroying part of the hunger layer limits the body’s production of the hunger hormone ghrelin, causing them to lose almost a tenth of their body weight.
It is also less intensive than other weight loss surgical procedures such as gastric bypass or gastric sleeve, and has long lasting effects unlike the successful weight loss drug Ozempic.
Doctors in North Carolina performed the experimental procedure in which a camera is inserted into the stomach, injecting the area with fluid to protect the tissues while burning off the top layer of the stomach wall, where the hunger hormone is produced.
Brooke Nelson was one of ten people to undergo the minimally invasive procedure and said she has lost 26 pounds in six months, bringing her weight to 183 pounds.
One patient who went from 209 pounds to 183 pounds in just six months after the procedure also noticed that her food preferences changed.
“The constant craving for food has decreased dramatically,” she said. “There are still times when I crave a chocolate chip cookie, but there are many more times when I crave something like greens.”
Obesity is a major public health threat in the US, affecting approximately 40 percent of Americans, for whom it dramatically increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Despite new medical treatments such as the injectable drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, doctors say more options are still needed because these drugs have side effects and are in short supply.
The new procedure, known as endoscopic mucosal ablation, targets the hunger hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, causing some people to overeat.
The experimental technique reduced ghrelin levels in patients by as much as 40 percent and saw a 7.7 percent reduction in patients one year after the procedure.
When people lose weight, the body senses an energy deficit and turns on the rest of hormones like ghrelin to increase appetite and store more food as fat.
Doctors at True You Weight Loss, a clinic in North Carolina, said the ablation begins when doctors insert a camera into the stomach and inject it with fluid to protect the underlying stomach tissue.
They then use a small device to ablate or burn the mucosal lining of the upper part of the stomach, known as the gastric fundus, which produces ghrelin.
Dr. Christopher McGowan, the founder of True You Weight Loss, shared Good morning America: ‘We have patients who are a year or more beyond their initial procedure, and what we see is that they continue to show a reduction, a decrease in hunger, and continue to report greater control over eating.’
The procedure does not require large incisions or deep penetration into the body, making it a strong, minimally invasive outpatient alternative to gastric surgery.
During gastric surgery, a large part of the stomach is surgically removed, leaving a smaller, sleeve-shaped stomach.
During gastric bypass surgery, doctors create a small pouch at the top of the stomach and connect it directly to the small intestine.
This bypasses part of the stomach and the first part of the small intestine (duodenum), limiting the absorption of calories and nutrients.
There are currently no drug options to reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin. If the procedure were to become mainstream, it would offer people a non-surgical alternative to gastric sleeve or bypass surgery
Dr. Christopher McGowan, the founder of True You Weight Loss in North Carolina, hopes the success of his experimental procedure will result in FDA approval that could help millions of people who can’t get obesity drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Brooke Nelson was one of ten women involved in the trial and lost 26 pounds. She said the results are remarkable.
‘The constant craving for food has decreased drastically. There are still times when I crave a chocolate chip cookie, but there are many more times when I crave something like a vegetable.”
The goal of most weight loss interventions is to reduce appetite, and reducing stomach capacity means that a person must ingest much smaller portions.
A sudden craving for healthy foods instead of sugary treats may be a function of overall disruption of hormone levels that can alter food preferences.
And ghrelin is not the only hunger hormone. Another is GLP-1, the one that Wegovy and Ozemic mimic to suppress appetite. But there are currently no drug treatments that reduce ghrelin.
That the patients maintained weight loss and decreased appetite for a full year after the procedure suggests a possible benefit over using Wegovy and Ozempic.
These medications are believed to only work as long as a person is taking them. Many people who stop taking it after a while report that they regain all the weight they have lost. Studies are underway into the long-term effects of the drugs, such as whether someone should take them indefinitely.
The surgery will need to be repeated in more patients before it can be approved by the FDA as a safe and effective way to treat obesity.
Little is known about its long-term safety and whether the procedure needs to be repeated several times to maintain weight loss.
Dr. McGowan said: “This is just the beginning. The first question was whether we can reduce hunger and ghrelin endoscopically. The answer is: yes, it is possible.’