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New Weight Loss Device Developed By Mass. Company

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Jun 29, 2009 4:22 pm US/Eastern

New Weight Loss Device Developed By Mass. Company

LEXINGTON (WBZ) ― A Massachusetts company reports promising results from a new experimental weight loss device it developed.

The Endobarrier gastrointestinal liner has been implanted in more than 250 patients around the world. Doctors use an endoscope to place a two-foot plastic sleeve, called an Endobarrier liner, in the beginning of the small intestine It allows food to pass through a portion of the tract without being absorbed.

"With the endoscopic sleeve, we're seeing 15 to 17 percent weight loss from the original weight. And on top of that we're seeing improvement or resolution of Type 2 diabetes," explained Dr. Caroline Apovian, an obesity expert at Boston Medical Center, who is working with GI Dynamics of Lexington.

The company found that by adding a new device which restricts how fast food fills up the stomach, patients lost nearly twice as much as weight as they did with just the Endobarrier alone.

"Basically, the flow restrictor slows down the passage of food and creates more satiety so patients will feel even fuller than with just the sleeve," explained Dr. Apovian.

Dr. Apovian says it will still be years before these experimental devices are available to patients here in the United States. Further clinical trials need to be done to see how long the devices can safely remain in patients and if they can help people maintain their initial weight loss.

As with other weight loss methods, the Endobarrier liner would have to be used in conjunction with diet changes and exercise.

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