ISTANBUL, (DHA) – OBESITY continues to be a problem that challenges all developments in the world in terms of science, clinics and public health. The incidence of obesity in adults, children, and adolescents is increasing with each passing day. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 300 million people more will be obese in the world by 2035. The lecturer Dr. Fatih Çiftçi said, “Traditional approaches produce limited solutions for permanent weight loss. Weight loss practices with endoscopic approaches in obesity treatment are the newest methods.”

The lecturer Dr. Fatih Çiftçi, a General Surgery Specialist from Istanbul Gelişim University, stated that more than 1 million 600 thousand people died of diabetes and high blood sugar related diseases in 2015, and said, “Conventional approaches produce limited solutions for permanent weight loss. Weight loss practices with endoscopic approaches in obesity treatment are the newest methods. The practices with endoscopic methods are used extensively in reducing or changing food absorption nowadays.”

Also giving information about other approaches, the lecturer Dr. Fatih Çiftçi stated, “The methods affecting the functioning of the stomach include endoscopic gastric fold, endoscopic vagal nerve block, and endoscopic botulinum injection. Another study is angioembolization, and it is related to deactivating the hunger-related receptor part of the stomach. The balloon application which is swallowed without endoscopy and opened in the stomach is also one of the new methods. The new generation balloons, functioning as a pre-surgery bridge treatment, are also effective in mildly overweight people.”

“MANY SURGICAL AND NON-SURGICAL SOLUTIONS ARE BEING INVESTIGATED”

Also making explanations about stomach botox, the lecturer Dr. Çiftçi stated that:
“Many solutions, whether surgical or not, are being investigated. After the study on experimental animals in Trondheim-Norway, research on the application of stomach botox started. In 2017 and 2018, another experimental study conducted by the same team on experimental animals was based on the search for solutions to obesity and type 2 diabetes by blocking the vagus nerve.

Various meta-analysis studies were conducted on the subject. There are studies reporting that stomach botox led to weight loss from 4 kilograms to 12 kilograms and reduced the level of triglyceride in the blood during the 6-month period. However, on the other hand, there are also studies that report the treatment as unsuccessful. The issue that should be considered here is that the exclusion of the part of the stomach called the fundus from the treatment causes failure. The main starting point in this treatment is to delay gastric emptying and to provide a longer feeling of satiety and to reshape the eating habits.”

“STOMACH BOTOX MAY CAUSE UNDESIRABLE EFFECTS”

Emphasizing that stomach botox may cause undesirable effects, the lecturer Dr. Çiftçi said, “There may be side effects such as muscle weakness, difficulty in breathing, and double vision. The drug can spread to other areas of the body from the injection site and affect the whole body.”

“ADDITIONAL RESEARCH IS NEEDED FOR TREATMENT”

Stating that it would be a preferable method for the treatment of obesity considering the ease of access to stomach botox and the low side effects, the lecturer Dr. Çiftçi said, “However, there is still a need for further research in terms of dose and injection sites in clinical practice. The missing aspects of treatment are the limitation of long-term data. The fact that it reduces the speed of gastric emptying, designs hunger and satiety in the brain’s eating center, acts on the incretin hormones released by the intestines is thought to be its mechanism of action in the treatment of obesity and diabetes.”