A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a capsule that can be ingested and that, when vibrating inside the stomach, stimulates the release of hormones that create the feeling of satiety, which helps you eat less.
When we eat, the stomach sends signals to the brain that give a feeling of satiety, which is the signal that we should stop eating. The stomach also sends these messages even if it is full of water, which is why people on a diet are often recommended to drink a glass before eating.
Taking advantage of this natural mechanism, MIT engineers have devised a capsule that vibrates in the stomach, vibrations that activate the same stretch receptors that they perceive when the stomach is distended, creating an illusory sensation of satiety.
When this pill was administered to animals 20 minutes before eating, the team found that it not only stimulated the release of satiety hormones, but also reduced food intake by about 40 percent.
If subsequent tests and trials show that this technology is safe in humans, the pill would be a minimally invasive way to treat obesity, the authors highlight.
“For someone who wants to lose weight or control their appetite, it could be taken before each meal. An option that could minimize the side effects that we see with other drug treatments,” explains Shriya Srinivasan, professor of bioengineering at Harvard University and author main part of the study published this Friday in Science Advances.
Feeling full
In an animal study, researchers showed that when the pill vibrates, it activates mechanoreceptors, which send signals to the brain by stimulating the vagus nerve.
The researchers found that when the device vibrated, the hormone release patterns were the same as those observed after a meal, even if the animals had not eaten.
They also observed that when the pill was activated for about 20 minutes before offering food to the animals, they consumed an average of 40% less than when the pill was not activated.
Additionally, the animals gained weight more slowly during the periods in which they were treated with the vibrating pill.
“The behavioral change is profound, and that is by using the endogenous system instead of any exogenous therapeutics. We have the possibility of overcoming some of the challenges and costs associated with the administration of biological drugs by modulating the enteric nervous system,” says Giovanni Traverso, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and co-senior author of the work.
The current version of the pill is designed to vibrate for about 30 minutes after reaching the stomach, but researchers plan to adapt it to stay in the stomach longer, including turning it on and off wirelessly as needed.
In animal studies, the pills passed through the digestive tract in four to five days. During the study, the animals showed no signs of blockage, perforation or other negative effects while testing the pill.
Researchers believe that these types of capsules could be an alternative to current obesity treatment methods, which do not always work and are quite invasive and expensive.
In fact, these capsules could be manufactured at an affordable cost for people who do not currently have access to more expensive treatment options. The researchers now plan to explore ways to scale up manufacturing of the capsules, which could allow for clinical trials in humans.
Such studies would be important to better understand the safety of the devices, as well as to determine the best time to ingest the capsule before a meal and how often it should be administered.
