The Role of Deep Brain Stimulation in Obesity

The Role of Deep Brain Stimulation in Obesity

Cancer may be the fatal ailment of the century, but obesity is also a serious nuisance. Plenty of information is already known about this condition, including its causal factors and prevention, mitigation and treatment measures, but how is the brain involved in obesity? This research seeks to explore “The Role of Deep Brain Stimulation in Obesity.” For the literature review, “DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION” and OBESITY” formed the primary search keywords. Peer-reviewed journals were favoured because of objectivity and reliability while JSTOR, Google Scholar, Academic Search and PubMed were the four databases on which the sources search was conducted.

Literature Review

Existing literature defines the role of deep brain stimulation in obesity as constructive. Ho et al. (2015), for example, establish that deep brain stimulation is potentially a new therapy for obesity. With the continually expanding knowledge on obesity’s neuroanatomic and the neuropsychiatric groundwork, Ho et al. (2015) acknowledge that there has been amplified attention, and hence, research on neuromodulation as a new therapy for obesity refractory to the existing medicinal, behavioural, and surgical treatments. Reviewing the literature on the subject, Ho et al. (2015) would establish that “latest clinical trials of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in chronic cluster headache, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder” have demonstrated that this new obesity treatment is safe and effective. Ho et al. (2015) explain that the procedure entails targeting the brain’s reward circuitry and the hypothalamus with electrical stimulation; hence, providing the basis for neuromodulatory methodology to treatment-refractory obesity.

Douglas et al. (2019) also portray deep brain stimulation as a safe and effective treatment method for obesity. According to Douglas et al. (2019), selected studies have already shown that deep brain stimulation is safe and effective for movement disorders. Reviewing case reports and series of patients treated with deep brain stimulation for obesity using a PubMed search, Douglas et al. (2019) among other things found that identifying electrical control signals can present opportunities for closed-loop adaptive deep brain stimulation systems to manage obesity while hormonal and metabolic sensors such as leptin, glycemic levels and ghrelin levels are all entrant control signals for deep brain stimulation.

Another study that supports the narrative of deep brain stimulation as a safe and effective treatment for obesity is Kumar et al. (2015). According to this study, this approach has been employed in the treatment of a variety of other diseases among them tremors, Parkinson disease, and dystonia, where it has been successful so far. Reviewing the current methods and approaches in the control of obesity, Kumar et al. (2015) explore efforts in neuromodulation and deep brain stimulation where they conclude that the technique is a safe and effective novel modality in obesity management.

It is safe to argue that existing evidence defines the role of deep brain stimulation as a safe and effective new treatment of obesity. All the reviewed research share this school of thought. Another common factor between these studies is that they all assess the performance of deep brain stimulation in the treatment of other treatments. Ho et al. (2015), for example, report that the procedure has been effective in treating chronic cluster headache and Alzheimer’s disease. On the other hand, Douglas et al. (2019) present that the method has been successful in addressing movement disorders while Kumar et al. (2015) recounts its impressive performance in tremor, Parkinson disease, and dystonia. However, their contexts and backgrounds differ. For example, while Ho et al. (2015) review clinical trials, the others review normal studies on the topic. All the same, the bottom line is that they all give essential insights into the role of deep brain stimulation in obesity.

References

Douglas A. Formolo, Douglas A. Formolo, Joana M. Gaspar, Joana M. Gaspar, Hiago M. Melo, Hiago M. Melo, Tuany Eichwald, … Roger Walz. (January 01, 2019). Deep Brain Stimulation for Obesity: A Review and Future Directions. Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Ho, A. L., Sussman, E. S., Zhang, M., Pendharkar, A. V., Azagury, D. E., Bohon, C., & Halpern, C. H. (March 25, 2015). Deep Brain Stimulation for Obesity. Cureus.

Kumar, R., Simpson, C. V., Froelich, C. A., Baughman, B. C., Gienapp, A. J., & Sillay, K. A. (January 01, 2015). Obesity and deep brain stimulation: an overview. Annals of Neurosciences, 22, 3, 181-8.