This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
5 weight loss procedures featured at DDW
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
SAN DIEGO — The emerging role of the gastroenterologist in obesity management was a hot topic at Digestive Disease Week. In her presentation during the AGA Presidential Plenary, Sarah Streett, MD, from Stanford University School of Medicine, said, “Gastroenterologists are uniquely suited for the care of obese patients,” and outlined a call to action for those in the field to join the multidisciplinary obesity treatment team.
“Dietary metabolism and nutrition are integral to gastroenterology,” she said. “As gastroenterologists, we are internists first, specialists in digestive disorders, and we’re endoscopists. This field is moving into the arena of endoscopic therapy, where we are expert. Most importantly, our patients need us to collaborate in treating their obesity.”
In keeping with this growing trend, new data on a number of novel weight loss procedures were presented during the meeting last month. Here are five news highlights covering some of these new therapies.
Marek Benes
1. EndoBarrier results in weight loss, reduced HbA1c in patients with obesity, type 2 diabetes
SAN DIEGO — Patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes achieved significant weight loss and improved glucose control with the EndoBarrier duodeno–jejunal bypass liner, according to randomized controlled trial data presented by Marek Benes, MD, from the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague. Read more
2. Balloon capsules, swallowed then inflated, produce weight loss in nearly 65%
SAN DIEGO — Nearly 65% of participants who swallowed three capsules then filled with gas lost 5% or more of their total body weight, according to Shelby Sullivan, MD, director of bariatric endoscopy at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“Individuals in the Obalon balloon treatment group also saw improvement in systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides — outcomes that were not observed in the control group,” she said during a press conference. Read more
3. Pose weight loss device failed to reach primary endpoints
SAN DIEGO — A study investigating an incisionless procedure for weight loss failed to reach the primary endpoints in terms of total body weight loss, according to findings also presented by Sullivan.
The Primary Obesity Surgery Endolumenal, or Pose, procedure includes a device transport and an endolumenal tissue approximator, and then sutures are anchored, she explained. Read more
4. Incisionless anastomosis system improves diabetes, reduces weight
SAN DIEGO — In this exclusive video from DDW 2016, Marvin Ryou, MD, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, discusses how a dual-path enteral bypass created by a novel incisionless anastomosis system (GI Windows) led to improvements in diabetes and weight loss in a trial of 10 obese patients. Watch now
5. FDA approves minimally invasive AspireAssist weight loss device
The FDA recently approved a minimally invasive alternative to weight loss surgery for individuals with moderate-to-severe obesity based on data presented at DDW.
The therapy entails an endoscopically-placed percutaneous gastrostomy tube and an external device that removes a portion of the calories consumed after meals. Read more