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Minimally invasive approach might have applications for weight-lossprocedures, cancer care in humans. By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- In a scenario reminiscent of thefilm Fantastic Voyage , researchers have found a way to perform nearly surgery-freegastric bypass procedures in pigs using only a local anesthetic. The procedure, done with moveable magnets, is completed in lessthan a half-hour, the researchers said, and reroutes the digestivetract without leaving behind any foreign material. Although pigs may not seem to be "the best model for looking atresolution of obesity and diabetes," porkers who were treated withthe new system gained less weight than did the controls, said thestudy's senior author, Dr. Christopher Thompson. Thompson, an assistant professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital inBoston, is presenting his findings at the Digestive Disease Weekmeeting of gastroenterologists in San Diego. He spoke to reportersat a Monday press conference. Gastric or intestinal bypass surgery is effective treatment againstobesity, diabetes and even some cancers and involves reroutingdifferent parts of the intestine so that certain areas of thedigestive tract are no longer needed. The procedure typically involves invasive surgery, with all itsattendant complications and risks. However, the procedure used in this study is called SAMSEN (forSelf-Assembling Magnets for Endoscopy). Here, researchers insertedtwo magnets via a catheter into the foregut and the hindgut of fivepigs. Once inside the intestine, the magnets were manipulated tofind each other and "mate" -- squeezing on the unneeded tissueuntil it died and shriveled away. Within a few days this method worked to create a surgical bypass(formally called an anastomosis) that connected two previouslyseparate parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Three months afterthe procedures, these bypasses were still large and open. The procedure, if validated in other animal models and in humans,might someday aid in the fight against obesity, diabetes and evensome forms of cancer, the authors stated. Similar procedures have been tried before but they involved justone magnet, meaning that only small bypasses could be performed.This new system would allow for larger bypasses. This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense as well asBeacon Endoscopic, which developed the SAMSEN system. A second study, also being presented at Digestive Disease Week,showed that a tiny endoscope nicknamed the "mermaid" that ispropelled by a magnet and a fin could safely travel the entirehuman digestive tract and provide accurate images of the stomach aswell as the small and large intestines. Currently, capsule endoscopies rely on the digestive tract'snatural movements to move it through the system. Not only does thisprocess take time, but doctors also cannot control the direction ofthe camera. The human volunteer in this study was the study's senior author,69-year-old Naotake Ohtsuka, president of Mu Ltd., which developedthe device. He is also professor emeritus at Ryukoku University inSeta, Japan. "The device moved safely by itself without injuring our volunteersubject and it took more images than the conventional capsuleendoscope," Ohtsuka said in the press briefing. "We conclude thatthe mermaid will be applied in the clinical diagnosis of the wholedigestive tract in the future." In a third and final study being presented at the meeting,researchers determined that a new high-definition, dual-focuscolonoscope may enable doctors to diagnose during a colonoscopywhether small polyps in the colon are benign or malignant. With such a technology, "doctors would feel certain enough in realpractice to do this and not have to send the specimen to apathology lab," said study senior author Dr. Roy Soetikno, aphysician with Palo Alto Veteran's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif. That study was funded by Olympus America, which makes the deviceand is currently marketing it. Findings presented at medical meetings are typically consideredpreliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. More information The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and KidneyDiseases has more on colonoscopies. SOURCES: May 21, 2012, press conference with Christopher Thompson,M.D., assistant professor, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston;Naotake Ohtsuka, Ph.D., president, Mu Ltd., and professor emeritus,Ryukoku University, Seta, Japan; Roy Soetikno, M.D., physician,Palo Alto Veteran's Hospital, Palo Alto, Calif; presentations,Digestive Diseases Week (May 19-22, 2012), San Diego Copyright © 2012 HealthDay . All rights reserved. I am an expert from pellet-millmachine.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Bagging Scale , China Hammer Mill Machine, Pellet Machine Parts,and more.
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