[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6385\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECould tweaking a nerve beat obesity?\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEurope has a weight problem \u2013 and it\u2019s getting worse. One in three 11-year-olds in the European region is overweight or obese, according to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.euro.who.int\/en\/health-topics\/noncommunicable-diseases\/obesity\/data-and-statistics\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Edata\u003C\/a\u003E from the World Health Organization (WHO).\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EThe number of obese people in many European countries has\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/health\/archive\/ph_determinants\/life_style\/nutrition\/documents\/10keyfacts_nut_obe.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Etripled\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;since the 1980s, and in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.oecd-ilibrary.org\/sites\/9789264183896-en\/02\/07\/index.html?itemId=\/content\/chapter\/9789264183896-26-en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E2012\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;half of Europe\u2019s adult population was considered overweight or obese.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis can lead to health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma and depression. Treating diseases related to obesity accounts for approximately 7 % of annual health spending in EU Member States.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith the number of obese children on the rise, the EU has developed an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/health\/nutrition_physical_activity\/key_documents\/index_en.htm#anchor2\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eaction plan\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to halt the rise in obesity in children and young people by 2020.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s a lifestyle issue,\u2019 said Professor Steve Bloom of Imperial College London, UK. \u2018We sit in front of screens all day, we drive everywhere and food is abundant. The trouble is that this builds up fatty tissue which leads to obesity, diabetes, stroke and cancer.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe most common remedy for serious cases of obesity is bariatric surgery \u2013 procedures that reduce the size of the stomach by applying a gastric band, removing a portion of the stomach or bypassing the stomach altogether.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese operations drastically reduce appetite and the patient loses weight but there is a problem, says Prof. Bloom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We cannot perform surgery on the scale that would be required given the growing numbers of overweight and obese people in society. We would not have the resources, the complications from surgery are high and one-off surgical procedures do not allow for adjustment if a patient loses too much or too little weight.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, by studying the impact of bariatric surgery, scientists have discovered that the procedure affects the vagus nerve \u2013 a long nerve that plays an important role in sending messages between the gut and the brain. One of its jobs is to tell the brain when the stomach is full, effectively switching off hunger.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis gave researchers an idea. \u2018Our mission was to try to find a way to control the vagus nerve without using dangerous surgery, and in a way that could be adjusted according to the needs of the individual,\u2019 said Professor Bloom, whose I2Move project is funded by the EU\u2019s European Research Council (ERC).\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018This is step toward a larger challenge of achieving total body control and is applicable to many diseases.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Steve Bloom, Imperial College London, UK\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project has paired Professor Bloom\u2019s interest in metabolism with the knowhow of engineers in order to devise a way to turn hunger signals on and off using electrical stimulation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Chris Toumazou of Imperial College likens the vagus nerve to a microprocessor that sends signals to and from the brain. It has many functions within the human body and Prof. Toumazou has previously studied whether electrical stimulation of the nerve could help to treat epilepsy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018My frustration with earlier approaches to vagus nerve stimulation was that electrodes can be very unintelligent. They stimulate at regular intervals \u2013 say, every five minutes \u2013 but do not incorporate patient-specific feedback,\u2019 he explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing regular electrical stimulation in epilepsy patients can have downsides including fatigue and headaches. A similarly blunt approach to controlling appetite would fail to react to whether the stomach was full or empty \u2013 giving electrical pulses even when it\u2019s not necessary.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResponsive\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo develop a smarter, more responsive system, Professor Toumazou and colleagues have used sensors that detect chemical changes in the stomach. The team is working on a tiny implantable device that would sit close to the vagus nerve in the gut where it could detect hormonal changes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018When the hunger hormone is detected, the device blocks the nerve so that this signal is not sent to the brain,\u2019 said Professor Toumazou. \u2018This gives real-time appetite control without the need for major surgery.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe device is set to enter trials in clinical volunteers as early as this year and, as the path to market is much quicker for new medical devices than it is for medicines, it could be available within five years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It has taken a truly interdisciplinary effort to get here as there was a technical mountain to climb,\u2019 said Professor Bloom. \u2018This is (a) step toward a larger challenge of achieving total body control and is applicable to many diseases.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe more scientists have learned about the vagus nerve, the more valuable it appears. This versatile nerve also has a role in controlling inflammation in the gut. For people with chronic inflammatory conditions such as colitis and Crohn\u2019s disease, vagus nerve stimulation could ease symptoms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022The vagus nerve is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system, which influences the function of internal organs.\u0022 height=\u0022620\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/VagusNerve-1-72dpi.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022The vagus nerve is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system, which influences the function of internal organs.\u0022 width=\u0022585\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EThe vagus nerve is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system, which influences the function of internal organs.\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003Cbr\u003E \u003Cbr\u003E Professor Guy Boeckxstaens, a gastroenterologist at the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium, is heading up the ERC-funded CHOLSTIM project which has been exploring the role of the vagus nerve in the gut.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are seeing promising anti-inflammatory actions in animal models for colitis and food allergy,\u2019 he said. \u2018Depending on the outcome of that work we hope to move to a small clinical study of around 10 patients.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhereas vagus nerve stimulation through the neck is used in certain types of epilepsy, the goal for treating chronic gut disorders would be to insert a pacemaker into the abdomen. It would remain there for several years, like a cardiac pacemaker implanted to regulate the heartbeat.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Boeckxstaens has been in contact with a medical technology company that designs devices in this area and, once his team establishes the right stimulation parameters for their target patient population, the new device could become available quickly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The clinical translation can move very fast once we get the basic science right,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, are also in the crosshairs of vagus nerve experts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Inflammation is even more important than was imagined 15 years ago and the interaction between the vagus nerve and the gut has therapeutic implications for a whole range of disorders,\u2019 Prof. Boeckxstaens said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is a lot of enthusiasm about this topic. 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