GI Dynamics has announced that the new data on its novel non-invasive device to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes, EndoBarrier™, currently in the clinical trial phase, will be presented soon. The EndoBarrier Gastrointestinal Liner will be a new sign of hope for the 99% of patients qualified as clinically obese and do not want to go for bariatric surgery. The data will be put forward at the International Federation for Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) 13th World Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Researchers at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan have concluded that obese people are more prone to heart attacks than smokers. Cholesterol builds up in the coronary arteries. Fat cells produce inflammatory or other chemicals which prompt the plaque to suddenly break. This causes a blood clot, resulting in a heart attack. A total of 111,847 men and women who had experienced a first heart attack were included in the final analysis. They were grouped according to their body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat based on height and weight. All the patients, regardless of body size, had about the same level of LDL cholesterol. Smoking rates were equal across the group under examination. This means that excess fat causes heart disease in other ways. While patients with the highest body weight lost 12 years of life, on an average, prior to their first heart attack, smoking they took less than 10 years of life before the first heart attack.

A study conducted by National Jewish Health has found out that steroids (glucocorticoids), the chief controller drug for asthma, are 40 percent less effective in obese patients of asthma than in those of normal weight. Studies have concluded that obesity increases the risk and intensity of asthma. Steroids are meant to raise the level of a molecule known as MAP kinase phosphatase-1. But the blood cells of obese people respond less efficiently to dexamethasone.

A study has found an injection to be effective in fighting obesity when given to certain blood vessels in stomach, leading to suppression of appetite. Researchers at John Hopkins University School of Medicine chose 10 healthy pigs for the obesity study as they have a anatomy very similar to humans.The pigs were injected a chemical (named sodium morrhuate) in blood vessels supplying certain parts of stomach. This reduced the amount of hunger hormone produced in pigs, ghrelin, by 60%. Lower eating levels made the pigs lose weight significantly.The procedure called gastric artery chemical embolization (GACE) would be a better option for both patients ( who can recover sooner) and doctors (as it is easy to perform).

The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) has collected data, the analysis of which concludes that Levemir ® (insulin injection), a once-daily treatment for patients of diabetes (type 1 and 2), can also lead to weight loss for insulin-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes. It provides a similar blood glucose response as glargine without any important difference in daily average consumption (DACON). The costs on pharmacy, too, remain the same.

A clinical trial has collected data, the analysis of which confirms that the first-in-class direct renin inhibitor Rasilez® (aliskiren), known as Tekturna® in the US, reduces blood pressure levels more significantly in obese patients with high blood pressure compared to the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) alone. Obese patients with high blood pressure have an increased risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease. Rasilez/Tekturna is approved in 55 countries. It was approved in the US  and the European Union in 2007. The drug was discovered by Novartis and developed in collaboration with Speedel.

A research at U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has concluded that Vigabatrin, a drug that can be used in treatment for drug addiction, causes rapid weight loss in animals. The medication induces satiety in non-obese animals as well as those bred to be obese, reducing their weight by 20%. Vigabatrin, currently, is in Phase II of the FDA-approved clinical trials as a treatment for cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. This drug will prove beneficial for both the severe form of obesity, that is genetic, and also for the obesity resulting from overeating, as this disorder is characterized by consumption patterns that are similar to drug-taking in those dependent on cocaine.