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FDA Approves Implantable Vagus Nerve Disruptor For Weight Loss

The L.A. Times reports that for the first time since 2007, the FDA has approved a weight loss device (as opposed to a weight-loss drug), an implantable device called the Maestro Rechargeable System. Using electrical leads implanted just above the stomach and a regulator carried under the skin near the ribcage, the device suppresses signals carried by the vagus nerve. ... The device adopts a variant of a "neuromodulation" technique long used in the treatment of epilepsy: by applying intermittent bursts of electrical current to the vagus nerve, it disrupts the signals that prompt the stomach to relax, expand and prepare for an influx of food. ... The FDA approved the use of the device in adult patients with a body mass index, or BMI, between 35 and 45, who have at least one other obesity-related condition, such as type 2 diabetes.

4 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. Re:You gotta be kidding me... by citizenr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Too cheap, cant package in a neat marketable device, get lost!

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  2. Re:Fatties, just eat less by silfen · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If these devices help reduce obesity, they're saving lives, and that's a good thing.

    Most obesity is due to poor nutrition and lack of exercise. Changing nutrition and exercising costs nothing and has numerous health benefits. Giving people an inferior, costly, and risky substitute for a simple and effective solution is not a good thing.

  3. Re:Worst idea ever. (Well, one of them). by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Obesity is a major health problem in much of the western world. It's nice to just blame fat people for lack of willpower or moral fibre when you are controlling it, but that doesn't help anyone. Anything that can seriously help people control their weight isn't a gimmick, it's a fix for one of the most common and serious health issues we face.

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  4. Re:Worst idea ever. (Well, one of them). by Oliver+Wendell+Jones · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Back in 2000 I started taking an OTC weight loss pill that contained Ephedrine. It completely killed my appetite. Often times at work I would only notice it was lunch time because it had gone quiet as everyone had left for lunch. Without intentionally changing my diet, with the exception of ditching soda for iced tea, I lost 85 pounds in 10 months. I still continued to eat the same foods, but didn't snack or eat other than meal time because I had no desire for food. I did not exercise at all, unless you count the walk back and forth to my car in the parking lot... Once I stopped taking those pills, I slowly put the weight back on and by the time it became an issue the FDA had banned the sale of Ephedrine based diet pills. I tried the new non-Ephedrine version of the pill and it simply didn't work - I was still hungry and wanted to snack. If they could implant something in me that gives me the same lack of appetite, I would sign up for it in a heartbeat.

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