Implantable gastric stimulator does not prevent the increase in plasma ghrelin levels that occurs with weight loss

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Ghrelin in this randomized controlled trial publication.

This report is an investigator-initiated sub-study at one site designed to assess whether IGS affects plasma levels of ghrelin and peptide YY (PYY).

Why It Was Studied

The device was implanted in all subjects but was activated in the TREATMENT group (n = 7, BMI = 41.5 ± 2.0 kg/m2) and remained inactive in the CONTROL (n = 6, BMI = 39.5 ± 1.7 kg/m2) during the first 12 months.

IGS was activated in both groups during months 12-24.

Who Took Part

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were teenagers, young adults, adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and multicenter study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Ghrelin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

As a double-blind Ghrelin study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Ghrelin group a baseline to be compared against.

More than one site took part, so the participants came from several places.

What Was Measured

Fasting venous blood was drawn at months 0, 12, and 24 and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed at month 12.

The subject headings attached to it are Electric Stimulation, Electrodes, Implanted, Fasting, Ghrelin, Glucose Tolerance Test, Obesity, Morbid and Peptide YY.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Ghrelin.

The publication is from 2011 (Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Ghrelin compound page, all human trials.