Researchers develop pill alternative to weight loss surgery

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Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are developing a surgery in a pill that has the potential to replace invasive weight loss procedures, they say.

“Bariatric surgery has been utilized increasingly over the last 15 to 20 years for weight management,” said Dr. Ali Tavakkoli, bariatric surgeon and co-director of the Brigham’s Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery. “But there are risks to this surgery, and this pill would alleviate those risks.”

The pill — which has been tested on rats — would be taken before meals to coat the intestines, allowing food to pass through without being fully absorbed into the body, according to a paper published yesterday in the journal Nature Materials.

The coating would then dissolve in a matter of hours.

http://www.bostonherald.com/lifestyle/health/2018/06/researchers_develop_pill_alternative_to_weight_loss_surgery

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1. Additional from linked article

“Gastric bypass procedure had this remarkable effect of sending Type 2 diabetes into remission,” Karp said. “There’s an urgent need to develop a safer alternative.”

The pill may have a quick path to widespread use, unlike many new treatments in the trial stages.

Researchers used a form of sucralfate, a material that has been FDA-approved for decades.

“We could be testing in humans within one to two years,” Karp said. “Within the next three to five years, this could be available.”

[Submariner]

2. Dunkin Donuts here I come!!!

So now I can toss down a few extra pills than prescribed for extra intestinal coating, and then go on a binge of eating a dozen or two of those beautiful marvelous honey-dipped donuts, a rack of baby back ribs, and a banana split without worrying about putting on any weight as a consequence.

Science is a wonderful thing.