A novel vibrating capsule that signals a postprandial feeling of fullness reduced both food and energy intake and lowered weight gain in animal studies, said researchers who are developing it as a more affordable treatment for obesity.
In a pig model, the VIBES activated mechanoreceptors and triggered gastric mucosal receptors, the researchers reported. Across 108 meals, swine treated with VIBES had nearly 40% reduced food intake compared to controls given a sham pill, with no apparent neural adaptation observed.Caroline M.
The VIBES capsule would in theory be acceptable to patients, Apovian said, but they are "overwhelmed by the media attention" on medications such as glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, which promise dramatic weight loss, far higher than the sorts of figures VIBES could achieve. "It's the largest possible capsule that's on the market today that is approved by the FDA for swallowing," he said, and people "have to assume it's going to come out the other end."
He agreed with Apovian that the arrival of GLP-1 agonists has made obesity "a tough market to compete in right now," although he noted that the drugs "do have side effects, and not everybody tolerates them.
The team designed an orally ingestible 3D-printed capsule in three sections, one of which allows entry of gastric fluid to dissolve a glucose layer. This causes the release of a spring-loaded pogo pin that completes a circuit to activate the vibrating motor.