Researchers believe a kind of stomach pacemaker could be a viable treatment for obesity.

In a small study of healthy volunteers, gastric electrical stimulation delivered via electrodes placed in the lining of the stomach using an endoscope, reduced the subjects’ intake of food and water and seemed to delay emptying of the stomach.

The idea actually goes back about ten years. Implantable gastric stimulation showed promise as a treatment for morbid obesity when it was first tested in 1995. Since then, several reports have come out supporting its safety and effectiveness, but some patients do not respond.

Dr. Jiande D. Z. Chen, from the University of Texas in Galveston, and colleagues found that gastric electrical stimulation can be performed using electrodes placed endoscopically in the stomach lining rather than surgically in the outer membrane of the stomach - which should reduce the possibility of complications.

Also, this approach - which enables doctors to apply temporary stimulation - may be useful for identifying people who respond and are likely to benefit from long-term therapy.

In the new study, reported in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, Chen’s group tested their approach in 12 healthy volunteers. After the electrodes were placed in the stomach, the team recorded the participants’ food intake, stomach function, and other factors when stimulation was applied and not applied, over three consecutive days.

Compared with sham stimulation, real stimulation was associated with significant reductions in food intake and maximum water intake. In addition, real stimulation delayed stomach emptying during the first 45 minutes after a meal.

No significant increases in symptoms such as discomfort or nausea were seen with real compared with sham stimulation.

The researchers say the their gastric electrical stimulation technique may help people lose weight, but that wasn’t tested in this study.

SOURCE: American Journal of Gastroenterology, April 2006.