Gastric Stimulator Induces Weight Loss

Gastric electrical stimulation using the Tantalus system (MetaCure Ltd) can potentially improve glucose control and induce weight loss in obese type 2 diabetic patients who are poorly controlled with oral anti-diabetic medication, according to preliminary study results reported at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Rome.   Gastric stimulation is an alternative treatment to gastric bypass surgery and lap band surgery.

The Tantalus system is a device that induces stomach contractility and consists of three pairs of bipolar electrodes connected to an implantable pulse generator. The device automatically detects food intake and applies gastric contractility modulation signals to the stomach to induce early satiety.

"The patient needs only 1 hour per week to recharge the implantable pulse generator battery using an external charger and the sensing and stimulation parameters can be adjusted per subject using an external programmer," Dr. Bruno Guerci from Hopital Jeanne-d'Arc, Nancy, France, told meeting attendees.

The Tantalus system is approved in Europe to treat obesity and to treat type 2 diabetics who are obese, so they can delay or avoid insulin treatment. It is currently in clinical trials in the United States.


As part of a European multicenter pilot study, 19 obese type 2 diabetic adults with HbA1c above 7.5 percent, despite oral anti-diabetic medication, had the Tantalus system surgically implanted. HbA1c determines blood glucose levels by measuring glycated hemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that forms when glucose attaches to hemoglobin. A HbA1c of 6.0 percent or lower is normal.

"Body weight and body mass index decreased significantly at 3 months and then remained stable at 6 months. The weight loss was around 5 kilograms (11 pounds), and the waist circumference reduction around 6 centimeters (2.5 inches)," Guerci told the conference. "It is important to emphasize that the patients were not put on a specific diet. They just continued their normal life activity," Guerci noted.