New Brain Implant to Battle Obesity

This article discusses a totally new way of treating obesity, through the use of an DBS (deep brain stimulation) device implanted in the nucleus accumbens. The nucleus accumbens is also known as the brain’s “reward” center, and has been linked to playing a role in addictive behaviors. The article states that often times people tend overeat to compensate for a stressful, or emotional, day. This overeating will then trigger their reward system, producing good feelings, which teaches the brain to react to food in an overly positive way. Thus, stimulating the reward complex by overeating teaches you that eating feels good. 

This DBS device works by  sending electrical signals to this precise region of the brain, and is predicted to reduce binge/emotional eating, as well as other obesity-related behaviors. Studies were done on “binge-eating mice” to test how this device would work, and the results were very promising. Mice had access to low calorie food 24/7, but soon learned that they would only have access to high calorie, fatty food for an hour day. This led to the mice “gorging themselves” on the fatty food. DBS devices were then implanted into half of the mice. Because their reward complex was no longer stimulated by the fatty foods, the mice ate a significantly less amount, even though they still knew that the fatty food would only be there for an hour. And even more interesting, they didn’t feel the need to make up the calories by eating a greater amount of low calorie food. However, once the DBS was turned back off, the mice quickly returned to overeating the fatty food. 

The DBS device is highly individualized, and doctors would be able to manipulate exactly how much stimulation a patient received, based on a variety of factors. While brain surgery is always a risky procedure, this DBS device is very small. It is believed to be safer than bariatric surgery, and might even work better than prescription drugs. Many drugs work to suppress the feeling of hunger, but if people are just eating to satisfy their reward system, and not because they feel hungry, then the pharmaceuticals won’t have much of an effect. 

DBS is already used in Parkinson’s patients, and therapeutic research is being done on its effects on OCD and depressed patients. 

With 1 in 3 Americans classified as “obese,” this could mean radical changes in medical field. If this could work in humans, then think of all the obesity-linked diseases that could essentially be wiped out! Type 2 diabetes immediately jumps to my mind, as it is often times a direct result of becoming too overweight. Although, it would not completely rid our country of diabetes, as Type 2 does have a genetic component, it would lower millions of American’s risks. This could also promote cardiac health in several ways, eating less fatty foods is obviously an excellent example. 

Though I am far from obese, I completely understand the idea of eating for emotional reasons. To be honest, I rarely eat because I’m actually hungry. Most of the time I’m either bored, or stressed, or I look at the clock and think “hmm it’s lunchtime, guess I’ll go eat!” With that being said, emotional eating can happen to anyone. This leads me to believe that obesity cannot be linked entirely to the nucleus accumbens, as many “normal” sized people also partake reward eating. However, I also know that many obesity patients become insensitive to many of the hunger-inhibiting enzymes that your body produces. So with a combination of ‘never feeling full’ and the desire to stimulate your reward complex by eating, I can see how easily obesity can occur. I am hopeful that I would never need this kind of surgery in my life, but it is exciting to see the potential it holds for America. This kind of surgery, which will ultimately result in weight-loss, will not only help to improve a person’s self image, thus, resulting in high self-confidence and greater achievement in life, but it will also lead to a longer and healthier life. And who wouldn’t want that?

http://news.yahoo.com/battling-obesity-brain-implant-131825711.html