Wednesday, August 21, 2013

New obesity drug replicates benefits of gastric bypass surgery

Mayo Clinic describes how a gastric bypass procedure alters the digestive system to help individuals drop excess weight. The procedure essentially reduces nutrient absorption and/or controls the amount of food patients can eat. It is a drastic weight-loss strategy when dieting and exercise are no longer effective, and it is also an effective and timely intervention when serious health issues arise from obesity.




However, recent developments could dodge gastric bypass surgery altogether. The Telegraph unveiled a drug being developed by a team of scientists from Imperial College London that will mimic the effects of a gastric bypass surgery to help patients lose weight.

The drug, which creates lasting hormones, tricks the brain into thinking that the body has taken in enough food.  Researchers hope it will be a better alternative to gastric bypas surgery.  Although the drug is initially expensive, it is created to be a safe and effective treatment option for patients wanting to lose excess pounds.


Image source: Fullplateliving.org


Professor Steve Bloom, who leads the study, still lauds the effectiveness of gastric bypass surgery. However, from a practical point of view, obesity affects an extremely large proportion of the population and causes death from related diseases. “We can’t expect to conduct surgery on half of Europe, for example,” he says.

“So we asked the question of whether we really need to carry out the surgery at all,” Professor Bloom adds.

If it takes appetite suppressants—no matter how expensive they are—to stop overweight people from eating as much as they do and keep them healthy in the long term, then this newfound drug might just be the thing in the future.  

Image source: Warwick.ac.uk

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