Information about Gamma block bariatric arterial embolization treatment strategies. Treatment of obesity and saying goodbye to the extra inches shaking your confidence. Bariatrics is a field which studies therapies pertaining to weight loss and management. This includes surgical procedures and behavioral therapies. Gamma block bariatric arterial embolization treatment strategies (Dr Imtiaz Ahmad is the pioneer of this technique and named it as Gamma block bariatric arterial embolization in Nov 2017 after performing the first ever Gamma block bariatric arterial embolization procedure in Karachi Pakistan)also fall under the umbrella of this field and is a modern approach towards treatment of obesity. Approximately, 39% of the world’s adult population is suffering from either obesity or being overweight.
A person is regarded as obese if his/her body mass index (BMI) is greater than 30kg/m2 in which case, they can make good use of Gamma block bariatric arterial embolization treatment strategies. Obesity may occur due to metabolic dysregulation which could be genetic, lack of physical inactivity, diseases such as PCOS in women or simply because of overeating. Making balanced lifestyle choices is the way forward towards losing all that extra weight.
However, many men and women try to fight obesity by incorporating these lifestyle changes but are often demotivated by the weighing balance’s consistent reading. This may be due to a disease, medication, or psychological stress. Bariatric surgery for weight loss is often advised to people that are suffering from diseases that have either occurred due to obesity or are getting much worse because of it. These patients may have a BMI of 35–40 kg/m2 which is alarming and must be addressed in due time. Bariatric surgery has been around since a while and has proved beneficial. Average weight loss with bariatric surgery has been about 5 to 15 pounds in only the first 30 days. However, bariatric surgery is invasive and therefore, variations to the procedure have been introduced under interventional radiology.
What are the health risks following Obesity?
Obesity imposes several health risks and becomes the starting point of multiple chronic diseases. Ranging from metabolic dysfunctionality to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, obesity is a defining factor in their progression. It is easy to understand why excess fat in the body would be so detrimental to health. Greater body mass affects almost every part of the body, from bones to muscles and from heart to brain, every organ faces the consequence. Risk of getting diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, respiratory problems, and some cancers, increase manifolds because of obesity. Moreover, in the recent age of social media, selfies, and fashion, being overweight or obese also contributes towards lower self-confidence, eventually leading a person into depression. Health risks following obesity and increasing mortalities have shifted attention towards studying ways in which weight could be reduced or the process of weight reduction could be hastened.
Treatment Of Obesity
The most obvious treatment plan for losing weight is to strike a balance between physical activity and healthy eating. It is no secret that losing weight is less about what you do to shed it and more about how consistently you are doing it. It is a lifestyle shift and being aware of the choices you make in your day-to-day routine. Special diets include intermittent fasting, calorie restricted diet and keto diet, to name a few. Most people require external help for their weight management where specialists plan a personalized routine for a person and conduct sessions to check up on the progress. Weight management programs under a specialist have proven more beneficial than being on your own and trying to lose weight since there is little accountability in the latter case.
Unfortunately, in some cases, a good diet and greater physical activity is also ineffective. Weight loss medicines and devices are advised to people who do not respond to management therapies, but it comes as no surprise that anti-obesity medications come with their fair share of side effects. Additionally, bariatric arterial embolization for weight loss has gained attention as being a minimally invasive procedure for obese people with comorbidities.
Gamma Block Bariatric Arterial Embolization
While the main cause of obesity remains ambiguous, hormones have been linked with controlling hunger, appetite, and weight gain by signaling the brain. Some of the hormones involved in the appetite regulation include oxyntomodulin, cholecystokinin, adiponectin, and ghrelin. Ghrelin is a hormone made from peptides and is released from the PD1 cells of the fundus, which is an important part of the stomach. Release of ghrelin is directly proportional to the food intake. Studies show that hunger increases on administration of ghrelin in subjects and during fasting or weight loss diets, levels of ghrelin rise, while once the hunger is quenched, ghrelin levels decrease. This variation points towards its role in hunger management.
The decrease in ghrelin level has been reported after bariatric surgery and believed to be associated with the weight loss process. Understanding the role of ghrelin is important to rationalize the bariatric embolization procedure which is an improved version of bariatric surgery. Fundus contributes to producing 90% of the ghrelin in the body. Blood supply to the fundus of the stomach is through the left gastric artery. right gastroepiploic artery and Short gastric arteries.
Dr Imtiaz Ahmad is the pioneer of Gamma block bariatric arterial embolization
procedure. This is a highly improved and precision guided procedure in which three blood vessels supplying the gastric funds are targeted as compared to rest of the world where only 1-2 blood vessels are targeted. The first ever “Gamma-Block” was performed in Pakistan in the month of Nov 2017. Patient was a 55 year male who lost approximately 67 pounds over a period of 3 months.
The procedure is a non-surgical alternative to bariatric surgery and does not involve the removal of any part of the digestive system. This aspect makes it minimally invasive yet achieves a similar goal to that of bariatric surgery. Gamma-block procedure is performed under image guidance. Catheter is introduced through the radial or the femoral artery to reach the left gastric artery,right gastro-epiploic artery followed by short gastric arteries supplying the Gastric fundus . Once image guidance confirms the correct position, embolization of the arteries is performed to disrupt the blood supply to the fundus. where “Hunger Center” The 90% ghrelin released from the” Hunger Center” located in gastric fundus causing hunger and overeating in already obese people is now “significantly”inhibited. Weight loss and management now yields much more promising results.
It is crucial to understand that while bariatric arterial embolization alone can prove quite effective, for an enhanced outlook, lifestyle changes and pharmacotherapy may become adjuvant to the treatment. It is helpful to remember that sometimes a loss is also a gain.
