Dr. Weiss, along with co-principal investigator, Aravind Arepally, M.D., from Piedmont Healthcare, used embolic beads that were approximately 10 times larger than the beads used in the preclinical studies, as smaller beads are thought to increase the risk of gastric ulceration. However, performing gastric artery embolization with smaller beads may produce a greater reduction in ghrelin, so future studies may be needed to examine the clinical benefits of smaller-caliber spheres.
“These are very promising and exciting results,” Dr. Weiss said. “I think this paper and the additional data we’re compiling show that bariatric embolization is very well tolerated by patients, and there are signs that it could have medium- and long-term efficacy for weight loss.”
Dr. Weiss and colleagues will complete the study in the fall and have all the data collected by the end of the year. They can then do a more definitive study on efficacy, Dr. Weiss said, with a larger number of patients and a focus on the long-term results.
Dr. Weiss emphasized that bariatric embolization is not intended to be a first-line treatment for obesity or a replacement for bariatric surgery.
“Obesity is a complicated disease that takes many different therapies to treat, including psychological counseling, diet, medication and, in extreme cases, surgery,” he said. “If we can provide one more piece to the armamentarium, that would be an exciting next step in the treatment of obese patients.”
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