Non-surgical weight loss trial shows promising results

Weight loss options are expanding rapidly. A new study presentspotential findings for a non-surgical obesity treatment. This procedure involves controlled burning of a portion of the stomach's mucus lining.

The participants in the small trial saw an average weight loss of 8%from their starting weight, along with a notable decrease in hunger.

The process is known as endoscopic mucosal ablation, which is a method already used to remove precancerous or other unusual bits of tissue from the digestive tract.

In the process, patients first drink a fluid in order to protect the stomach’s tissues, then doctorssend an endoscope down through the esophagus to the uppermost portion of the stomach, also called the gastric fundus.

Once there, the endoscope will burn the moist, inner lining of the fundus where mucus is produced.

The key to this procedure lies in the fundus, a part of the stomach responsible for a significant portion of our hunger pangs. This area is the primary producer of ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger when our stomach isempty. Conversely, ghrelin levels decrease after eating. The goal is to safely reduce hunger by burning a portion of the fundus lining, thereby destroying enough ghrelin-producing cells to promote lasting weight loss.

Researchers running the first-in-human trial of this method announced their early results at the academic conference Digestive Disease Week.

Ten patients living with obesity, all women, took part in the trial. On average, they lost 7.7% of their body weight and experienced a more than 40% reduction in fasting ghrelin levels. Participants’ average level of self-reported hunger also dropped by a third, while their stomach’s capacity for food and drink decreased by 42%.

It's important to note that this is a very early study with only a few participants. The results haven't been reviewed by other scientists yet, so more research is needed before getting too excited.

“This non-surgical procedure can smooth the progress of weight loss and significantly control hunger,. It may be a suitable alternative for those who are ineligible for or hesitant about medications like Wegovy or Ozempic, or bariatric surgery,” said study researcher Christopher McGowan, MD, a gastroenterologist and medical director of True You Weight Loss, a North Carolina clinic, in a statement released by Digestive Disease Week.

(With inputs from agencies)