An ingestible vibrating capsule can help trick the brain into eating less
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have designed an indigestible pill that triggers the feeling of satiety and reduces food consumption. The pill was tested on animals that reduced food intake by 40 percent. After trials, the researchers hope to use the pill as a minimally invasive way to treat obesity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 41.9 percent of the population surveyed in the US in 2017-2020 was obese, as opposed to 30.5 percent in 1999-2000. Medical costs for obese adults were $1,861 more than individuals with healthy weight. The conditions also increase risks for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
Non-medical interventions such as diet and exercise do not always work, whereas medical ones involve invasive procedures such as gastric bypass surgery. In recent times, drugs that help lose weight have been introduced but are fairly expensive and often need to be injected. In such a scenario, a pill that can be ingested is a simpler and non-invasive intervention.
Why do we feel full?
When we eat our food, the stomach distends or becomes bloated due to the food occupying space within. This stomach stretching is recognized by mechanoreceptors that send a signal to the brain, which then begins a cascade of reactions, including the production of insulin and hormones such as C-peptide, Pyy, and GLP-1 that aid in the digestion of food.
This gives individuals feeling full or satiated while suppressing ghrelin levels, a hunger-promoting hormone. The individual now stops eating. This happens when the stomach is full, so dieters are advised to drink water before a meal.
The indigestible pill
Shriya Srinivasan, a graduate student at MIT, wondered if the stomach lining could be artificially stretched and found that vibration induced a sense that a muscle had stretched further than it had, creating an illusory sense of enlargement and activating the hormones.
As a post-doctoral student, Srinivasan worked with a team of researchers to design a pill the size of a multivitamin but with a vibrating element. The pill that can be ingested orally consists of a gelatinous membrane dissolved by the gastric juices in the stomach. This completes the circuit to connect the silver oxide battery in the pill with the vibrating element, thereby activating it, a press release said.
In animal trials, the researchers found that the vibrations activated the mechanoreceptors and initiated the release of hormones. Tracking levels of these hormones confirmed that they were being released at the same levels as seen after a meal, even when the animal was fasting.
When the pill was activated for 20 minutes before giving animals food, consumption was reduced by as much as 40 percent when the pill was not activated. The researchers found that weight gain was also slower while the pill was administered.
The pill was designed to vibrate for about 30 minutes after reaching the stomach and was passed out by the animals in four to five days. For human use, the researchers are exploring activating the pill wirelessly to stay inside the stomach for longer periods.
Source: Interesting Engineering
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An ingestible vibrating capsule can help trick the brain into eating less