Study suggests new treatment for obesity through electrical brain stimulation

New Approach to Treat Obesity Using Electrical Brain Stimulation Using electrical brain stimulation to suppress appetite could be a new frontier in treating the growing global health problem of obesity, a recent study suggests. According to the World Health Organization, one in eight people in the world is obese.

Current treatments for obesity include drugs and injections, but long-term use often causes side effects. Researchers at the Korea Electrotechnical Research Institute (KERI) and Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea have developed a new method to suppress hunger by stimulating the cerebral cortex of the skull.

The research team conducted a clinical trial using a technique called transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) in 60 female volunteers, 30 in the tRNS group and 30 in the active sham group.

The experiment consisted of six sessions of electrical stimulation, lasting two to three days, over two weeks. Electrical stimulation was performed using a commercially available electrical stimulator, using at least 2 mA every 20 min.     

Appetite, appetite, and hunger were lower in the tRNS group than in the placebo group. tRNS has also been shown to affect emotional eating, meaning the process or tendency to eat to avoid emotions such as anxiety, depression, stress and happiness is significantly reduced.

Although the two-week trial did not confirm long-term weight loss results, participants reported significant reductions in appetite. Ph.D.  The technology is still incomplete and needs further study and validation, said Ki Yang Shin of the Carey Institute’s Electrical and Medical Devices Research Center.

But “these electroconvulsive devices have fewer side effects than current obesity treatments, and if they can be used at home instead of in the hospital, they provide a simple and easy way to suppress hunger every day,” he said.  shin

Reference

Author: MedBlog18 Blog Team

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