US Approves New Weight-Loss Device for Obese People
US regulators on Wednesday approved a new kind of pacemaker-like device that aims to help people lose weight by stimulating a nerve that runs from the brain to the stomach. The Maestro Rechargeable System is the first device for weight loss approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in eight years. Christopher Ochner, an obesity and nutrition expert at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said the device's approval is a "positive step." "The vagal nerve, on which this system is designed to impart electrical impulses, is quite important in regulating communication along the gut-brain axis," he said.
- Dr. Christopher Ochner, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai