At a recent meeting of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons in Las Vegas, EnteroMedics Inc. of St. Paul, MN presented updated clinical results from the VBLOC-DM2 ENABLE (DM2) study, examining the feasibility of the Maestro Vagal Blocking for Obesity Control (VBLOC) system in obese individuals with type 2 diabetes. The second-generation device used in the ENABLE study benefits from an improved rechargeable delivery system that, on average, allows a greater duration of therapy than the company’s first-generation device. This is significant as data from the EMPOWER study demonstrated a correlation between hours of daily device use and excess weight loss.
The Maestro system, which we have covered previously, is a laparoscopically placed device that intermittently blocks the vagus nerve trunks by means of low energy electrical impulses. The pacemaker-like device is not yet FDA approved for use in the US, but is available in the EU.
Updated data presented by EnteroMedics indicates that the Maestro VBLOC system leads to improved weight loss and a concomitant reduction in obesity related co-morbidities.
More from the press release:
“The DM2 study is noteworthy in that we see significant, sustained improvements in glycemic control and blood pressure as well as clinically meaningful weight loss, without a compromise in patient safety,” said James Toouli, M.D., professor of surgery at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, and one of the study’s investigators. “These results are comparable to changes seen with other procedures and do not appear to be dependent only on reduction of the glycemic load.”
Press release: Data From EnteroMedics’ VBLOC-DM2 ENABLE Study to Be Presented at American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Meeting…
Flashbacks: Vagal Electrical Nerve Stimulation Helps With Weight Loss in Clinical Trial; Vagal BLocking for Obesity Control
