Many people with type 2 diabetes are seriously obese. We know weight loss cuts insulin resistance and improves blood sugar control. The problem has been to achieve that weight loss.
For many, trendy Hollywood diets and questionable "alternative" herbal medications have been less than successful, and bariatric surgery, stapling or re-secting the stomach, brings its own lifetime problems -- which is why the procedure is reserved for the morbidly obese, for whom the risk of remaining so overweight is greater than that of the surgery.
An alternative is being developed. The Transcend is an implantable "gastric stimulator," or IGS, delivers electrical pulses to the stomach. The device consists of leads (implanted in the stomach wall), the "stimulator," and an external programming device. As described by Transneuronix, the manufacturer, the machine is a programmable bipolar pulse generator. Its short electrical pulses help stimulate the stomach and achieve weight loss.
In trials in the last eight years, approximately 700 people have been implanted with the device. Scott Shikora, MD, principal investigator, reports there have been no major operative complications, or major long-term nutritional or metabolic consequences associated with the Transcend. "This device is clearly the safest operative alternative out there," he reports.
Does it work? Dr. Shikora reports they have developed a profile of the appropriate candidate for the device, and these individuals, they report, lose about 48 percent or more of their excess weight.
The Transcend is currently investigational. If it passes its latest 12-month trial, Dr. Shikora reports, "it could be considered by the Food and Drug Administration for use." Note: the Transcend IGS has already been licensed in Canada. If it is successful, it will become one more option to use against patient obesity. For more information, or to read about clinical trials, contact Transneuronix, Inc., 100 Stierli Ct., Suite 106, Mt. Arlington, NJ 07856; telephone: (973) 601-1950; Web site: www.transneuronix.com.