Scientists reduce appetite through varicose vein treatment

By William Atkins
Tuesday, 16 September 2008 21:31

Science - Health

A hunger-activating hormone was reduced in pigs using a medical procedure originally used to treat varicose veins. If it works in humans, the obesity-control treatment could be a much less invasive surgical procedure than bariatric (weight-loss) surgery.


The lead researcher in the study is Dr. Aravind Arepally, from The Johns Hopkins University. He is the clinical director of the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, and associate professor of radiology and surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The other researchers for the study include Brad P. Barnett, Tarek T. Patel, Valerie Howland, Racy C. Boston, Dara L. Kraitchman, and Ashkan A. Malayeri, all from Johns Hopkins University.

In their study, the Arepally team used ten healthy pigs because they have anatomical and physiological features similar to humans.

After fasting overnight, the pigs were weighed and blood samples taken to determine baseline hormone levels of ghrelin.

Ghrelin is a hormone produced by P/D1 cells, which line the fundus of the stomach, and epsilon cells, which are found in the pancreas. The hormone stimulates appetite by increasing its levels before meals are eaten and decreasing its levels after meals have been consumed.

Arepally comments, "Appetite is complicated because it involves both the mind and body. Ghrelin fluctuates throughout the day, responding to all kinds of emotional and physiological scenarios. But even if the brain says "produce more ghrelin," GACE physically prevents the stomach from making the hunger hormone." [Bio-Medicine: “Johns Hopkins researchers suppress 'hunger hormone'”]

The Arepally team began the surgical procedure—called gastric artery chemical embolization (GACE)—by moving a narrow tube through a large blood vessel located near the groins of the pigs.

The procedure continues on page two.