Anti-Cancer Beer
Reported January 16, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Imagine reaping the benefits of gastric bypass without the risks of surgery. Early results from the study of a new device are finding just that potential.
Weighing in isnt such a bad thing anymore for Barbara McMackin. The pounds have been coming off ever since she became the first person in the United States to get an experimental device called Endobarrier.
“Endobarrier is a sleeve that is placed without surgery into the patients small intestine to help them achieve weight loss,” says Keith Gersin, M.D., Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.
The gastric sleeve, or Endobarrier, is placed endoscopically through the mouth and lines the first two feet of the small intestine. It prevents food from being absorbed while it’s in the sleeve. Early results from the study show patients who got the device lost more weight than those who didnt.
McMackin and other patients had the device for a three month trial. She lost 17 pounds!
“I did not feel hungry like I used to. I could get into clothes that I couldnt get into before or had more room or more wiggle room, which was great,” McMackin says.
At this point, the Endobarrier is only being studied as a temporary fix — a prelude to weight loss surgery. But Dr. Gersin says its future as a non-surgical alternative is exciting.
“Were looking at a market of between 15 and 30 million people that could potentially be helped by this,” Dr. Gersin says.
Candidates for the Endobarrier trial had to be at least 100 pounds overweight and be planning to have weight loss surgery. Patients in this Endobarrier study lost an average of between 10 percent and 15 percent of their excess body weight during the three months that they had the Endobarrier.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Carolinas Weight Management & Wellness Center
(704) 355-9484