Hacking into our central nervous system

After reading a news item in the Los Angeles Times entitled “FDA approves a device for weight loss”, I decided to investigate the Maestro Rechargeable System, which works by intercepting the vagus, or pneumogastric nerve, in the process suppressing the hunger signals the stomach sends to the brain, effectively prompting appetite reduction, and thus the amount of food you eat at each meal, along with the feeling of being full for a longer period afterward. In other words: the interception of signals between organs in the human body through electrical stimulation generated by an implanted device.

The device, created by EnteroMedics, is the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration since 2007. It is recommended for obese people with a Body Mass Index of more than 35, and with at least one health problem as a result of their weight, type 2 diabetes, for example.

The device uses neuromodulation techniques already proved to work in dealing with epilepsy: intermittent electrical stimulation applied to the Vagus nerve that interrupt the signals that make the stomach relax, expand, and prepare for food. The vagus nerve provides parasympathetic innervation to glands of mucous membranes of the pharynx, larynx, organs in the neck, thorax, and abdomen, affecting heart rate, the digestive processes, and breathing.

The Maestro Rechargeable System is implanted through a 90-minute operation using a laparoscope, while Vagal Blocking therapy, or VBLOC, helps treat patients without having to perform surgery on the digestive system, which can be costly, intrusive, and in many cases create problems. During the time the patient is awake, the device generates alternate pulses: five minutes of innervation and five minutes of inactivity, which avoids the nervous system trying to find some way to compensate for long periods of silence. The device is turned off during sleeping hours. Furthermore, the system can be activated or deactivated by the user at any time.

This is not the first time technology has been used to intercept our nervous system, the pacemaker being perhaps the best-known example, and which has been in use for decades to regulate heart rate. But this is taking things a whole lot further: basically, what it is doing is hacking into the communication between the organs in our body to avoid certain stimuli being sent. Welcome to the 21st century.

(En español, aquí)