Now, a weight-loss tool that is safe, nonsurgical

Shedding those extra kilos can be a task, but now you can meet your weight loss and health goals with the help of a safe, new, minimally invasive treatment.

Developed by interventional radiologists, the treatment led to sustained weight loss in severely obese people, according to research. Researchers said this could offer individuals a viable, safe alternative to surgical weight-loss treatments.

Researchers designed the Bariatric Embolization of Arteries for the Treatment of Obesity (BEAT Obesity) pilot clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of bariatric arterial embolization, or BAE, as a minimally invasive, image-guided treatment option for obese people struggling with weight loss.

Clifford Weiss from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said that these early results demonstrate that BAE appears to be effective in helping patients lose a significant amount of weight in the short and intermediate term. Compared to a surgical gastric bypass procedure, BAE is significantly less invasive and has a much shorter recovery time.

BAE targets a specific portion of the stomach (the fundus), which produces the vast majority of the body's most powerful hunger hormone, called ghrelin. BAE is performed exclusively by interventional radiologists, who use image guidance and catheters to access the specific blood vessels to this portion of the stomach through a small nick in the skin at either the groin or wrist.

The physician then injects microscopic beads to decrease blood flow to that portion of the stomach, thereby suppressing some of the body's hunger signals, leading to reduced appetite and weight loss.

Weiss stressed that this research is still in its early stages. Now that the safety of this procedure has been demonstrated, more clinical trials are needed to evaluate larger numbers of patients to determine the treatment's efficacy and durability over time.