1999 results about "Weight loss" patented technology

A device for inducing weight loss in a patient includes a tubular prosthesis positionable at the gastro-esophageal junction region, preferably below the z-line. In a method for inducing weight loss, the prosthesis is placed such that an opening at its proximal end receives masticated food from the esophagus, and such that the masticated food passes through the pouch and into the stomach via an opening in its distal end.

The present invention relates to the gut microbiome as a biomarker and therapeutic target for energy harvesting, weight loss or gain, and/or obesity in a subject. In particular, the invention provides methods of altering and monitoring the relative abundance of Bacteroides and Firmicutes in the gut microbiome of a subject.

An electrical device utilized to control the body weight of a medically overweight human being comprises of at least two electrical leads for implanting on the fundus of the stomach. An electrical generator/controller (pacemaker) generates and regulates the frequency and degree of electrical stimulation. The device can be used surgically, laproscopically, and/or endoscopically.

The present application provides devices and methods for inducing weight loss. In particular, the present application provides devices which are secured in the stomach or external to the stomach to reduce digestion and/or absorption of food in accordance with the methods of the invention

An apparatus and method comprising at least one intragastric member or artificial bezoar made of a digestive-resistant or substantially indigestible material that is introduced into a gastric lumen of a mammal for the treatment of obesity. The intragastric member or artificial bezoar is typically at inserted into the gastric lumen in a partially compacted configuration, whereby it is then manipulated into, or allowed to assume, a second expanded configuration sufficiently large to remain within the reservoir of the stomach during normal activities and not be passed through the pylorus into the intestines. In animals, the present invention has been found to be effective in achieving weight loss over a several month period, while being easy to place and retrieve.

The invention relates to a medical apparatus including a device used in the treatment of weight loss, obesity and potentially other associated health problems, e.g., type II diabetes. The device is used to impede absorption of nutrients within the gastrointestinal tract, i.e., bypassing a portion of the gastrointestinal tract. The medical apparatus enables implantation of the device using minimally invasive techniques, such a transesophageal approach under visualization. The device may be implanted via a working channel of a medical scope, e.g., an endoscope or in combination with a medical scope.

A magnetic nerve stimulator system is comprised of a core constructed from a material having a high field saturation with a coil winding. A thyrister capacitive discharge circuit pulses the device. A rapidly changing magnetic field is guided by the core, preferably vanadium permendur. For task specific excitation of various nerve groups, specially constructed cores allow for excitation of nerves at deeper levels with higher efficiency than is possible with air-core stimulators. Among the applications possible with this invention are treatment of incontinence, rehabilitation of large muscle groups in the leg and arm, and excitation of abdominal wall muscle groups to aid in weight loss and metabolic rate increase. A C-shape is employed for focussing the stimulation as desired.

A user's personal biometric information such as age, sex, weight, height as well as the user's lifestyle information, such as daily caloric input, job description, smoker status and physical fitness, is uploaded onto a host computer. Target heart rate, energy and/or caloric consumption levels related to desired fitness and weight loss goals for a particular individual are then selected having regard to fitness levels for an individual of comparable age, and consuming similar calories are then downloaded to a caloric monitoring unit. The caloric monitoring unit is provided for measuring the user's heart rate and dynamic energy and/or caloric expenditure over one to four weeks. The caloric monitoring unit includes a heart rate monitor, a unit accelerometer, a global positioning system (GPS), and an audio and/or video output. The audio/video output is operable to provide information and/or motivational prompts to the user in the event the heart rate, energy expenditure and/or caloric expenditure falls below or exceeds pre-selected target expenditures over a particular time segment of the selected time period having regard to the calories which are consumed. A display provides a continuously updated visual indication of whether or not the use has achieved the pre-selected optimum caloric burn or energy expenditure for that particular time segment. An internal calendar/clock, a processor and/or memory in the caloric monitoring unit compares measured heart rate and energy expenditures for multiple time segments against target levels stored as the user-specific fitness programme tailored to achieve the desired weight loss. The comparison is then used to generate compliance output data to either the user and/or a nutritionist.

An enrobed solid form comprising a film enrobing a compacted fill material having at least one active material, the solid form shows a weight loss that is less than 1% during a 30 minutes USP Friability Test, the fill material having a density of at least 0.5 g/ml based on the total solid volume of the solid form and a tensile strength less than 0.9 MPa, and the at least one active material within the solid form has an immediate release profile. The solid form is useful in effective delivery of high dose levels of active material.

A gastrointestinal implant device is positioned in a patient's small intestine or rectum and produces an outward force that itself produces a distension signal which is a therapeutically useful neural or humoral signal that evokes satiogenic or weight loss effects by itself. The device may advantageously be placed in the duodenum adjacent the pylorus or in the jejunum, ileum or rectum. The distension signals may amplify chemosensory or mechanosensory signals such as enteroendocrine secretions within the patient. The device may be a mesh and include a low material density that allows for unrestricted chyme absorption within the small intestine and unrestricted chyme flow through the gastrointestinal system. A method includes inserting the device into the patient then either retrieving the device after treatment is complete or allowing a device formed of a biodegradable material to degrade in time after treatment is complete.

A bariatric device and method of causing weight loss in a recipient includes providing a bariatric device having an esophageal member, a cardiac member and a connector connected with the esophageal member and the cardiac member. The esophageal member has an esophageal surface that is configured to generally conform to the shape and size of a portion of the esophagus. The cardiac member has a cardiac surface that is configured to generally conform to the shape and size of a portion of the cardiac portion of the stomach. The esophageal surface is positioned at the esophagus. The cardiac surface is positioned at the cardiac portion of the stomach. The bariatric device stimulates receptors in order to influence a neurohormonal mechanism in the recipient.

This technology relates generally to compounds and methods for stimulating neurogenesis (e.g., post-natal neurogenesis, including post-natal hippocampal and hypothalamic neurogenesis) and/or protecting neuronal cell from cell death. Various compounds are disclosed herein. In vivo activity tests suggest that these compounds may have therapeutic benefits in neuropsychiatric and/or neurodegenerative diseases such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, normal aging, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, spinocerebellar ataxia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, stroke, radiation therapy, chronic stress, abuse of a neuro-active drug, retinal degeneration, spinal cord injury, peripheral nerve injury, physiological weight loss associated with various conditions, as well as cognitive decline associated with normal aging, chemotherapy, and the like.

Method and system to provide therapy for obesity, gastric motility, or to induce weight loss comprises ablating the gastric tissue around the “pacemaker” region of the stomach, and electrically pacing the stomach with a pulse generator/stimulator to control the electrical activity of the gastric muscle. The ablation to the gastric tissue may be from the epigastric side, or may be from inside the stomach. The ablation may be performed utilizing any one of: radiofrequency catheter ablation; radiofrequency catheter ablation using an irrigated tip catheter; microwave ablation; cryoablation; high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation; and laser ablation. The ablation of the “pacemaker” region of the stomach may be partial or complete. A gastric pulse generator/stimulator is implanted to provide electrical pulses to the stomach. The function of the gastric stimulator after complete ablation of the pacemaker region, is to provide a basic electrical rhythm (BER) to regulate and control electrical activity of the stomach. Alternatively, if partial ablation is performed the function of the gastric pulse generator/stimulator is to enhance the residual basic electrical rhythm (BER), or to interfere with the residual basic electrical rhythm (BER).

The invention relates to a medical apparatus including a device used in the treatment of weight loss, obesity and potentially other associated health problems, e.g., type II diabetes. The device is used to impede absorption of nutrients within the gastrointestinal tract, i.e., bypassing a portion of the gastrointestinal tract. The medical apparatus enables implantation of the device using minimally invasive techniques, such a transesophageal approach under visualization. The device may be implanted via a working channel of a medical scope, e.g., an endoscope or in combination with a medical scope.

This invention provides a treatment regimen that is effective in inhibiting chemotherapy-induced apoptosis and promoting cell survival. The invention also relates to a treatment regimen that confers resistance to caspase activation, thereby inhibiting caspase-mediated, proteolytic cleavage of functional cellular enzymes. Specifically, subjects undergoing chemotherapy are first exposed to a pretreatment regimen. Under this regimen, a GLP-2 receptor activator, such as h[GLY2]-GLP2, is administered each day for a predetermined beneficial period, e.g., three consecutive days. Approximately about 1 week following pretreatment, the subjects are exposed to an appropriate chemotherapy treatment regimen. Pretreatment with a GLP-2 receptor activator followed by administration of chemotherapeutic agents improves cell survival, reduces bacteremia, attenuates epithelial injury, and inhibits cellular apoptosis. Moreover, it does not impair the effectiveness of chemotherapy nor result in weight loss. The anti-apoptotic effects of GLP-2 may be useful in the reduction of cytoxicity and bacterial infection induced by chemotherapeutic agents.

An improved ultra-high fiber supplement that promotes satiety, caloric reduction, and weight loss. The supplement comprises guar, oat, psyllium, locust bean gum, pectin, green tea, multi-anthocyanadins, pyridoxine, and folic acid. It improves cardiovascular health and reduces cardiovascular inflammation and the risk of heart disease. The addition of antioxidants, including green tea, improves weight loss, and general and cardiovascular health. Also it reduces serum lipoprotein oxidation and risk of free-radical related diseases. Additional benefits include the lowering of plasma homocysteine by the addition of folic acid and pyridoxine. Consumption of the supplement aids in reducing absorption and assimilation of ingested toxins. A method of providing an ultra-high fiber comestible that is highly palatable and can be used to supplement nutrition and to manage and prevent diet-related diseases is disclosed. Further embodiments increase fiber and other nutrients in the diet and helps manage and prevent all diet-related diseases.

Disclosed are compositions for affecting weight loss comprising a first compound and a second compound, where the first compound is an antidiabetic and the second compound is a anticonvulsant. Also disclosed are methods of affecting weight loss, increasing energy expenditure, increasing satiety in an individual, or suppressing the appetite of an individual, comprising identifying an individual in need thereof and treating that individual with an antidiabetic and an anticonvulsant.

The invention provides compositions and methods to modulate fat storage and weight loss in a subject. In certain aspects of the invention, fat storage (adiposity) and weight loss is modulated by altering the subject's gastrointestinal microbiota population. In other aspects of the invention, fat storage and weight loss is modulated by altering the amount of or the activity of the protein, fasting-induced adipocyte factor, in the subject.