Could brain surgery cure obesity ?

The number of people in the western world who are obese is now reaching dangerous levels. Some researchers are already calling it a pandemic. What so many physicians/researchers are trying to figure out are the reasons behind such a large percentage of the population being so over-weight. Many blame the eating habits-which consists mostly of fast food and over-processed foods. Still, another part of the reason might be a genetic defect that these individuals possess which makes it harder to loose the weight once they put it on. For people who wish to loose a few pounds for the summer, a diet of eating properly and exercising will result in a slimmer waist line. However, for those individuals who are morbidly obese often times need more help than just dieting to loose this large amount of weight.

A common choice for these individuals has become gastric bypass surgery, where the individuals stomach is shrinked to an extremely small size so that they cannot hold a large amount of food. For many, the results from this surgery have been astonishing. Everywhere in the media, there are examples of people who have lost 150-300 lbs from undergoing gastric bypass surgery. However, there are still some individuals who consider the risks of the operation far to large and seek other forms of treatment to loose the weight. Still, there are those who have underwent this type of surgery without receiving the results they desired.

Just recently, physicians have begun implanting electrodes into the brain to curb their cravings for food. Neurosurgeons from West Virginia University Hospital found electrical signals sent to an area in the brain, called the hypothalamus, which controls eating, can curb hunger in the obese. This surgery is the result of a three year, U.S. governmental trial and is now available to 20% of the population who have tried diets and surgery such as gastric bypass without loosing a significant portion of the weight. There has already been 2 successful surgeries in which both patients are satisfied with the amount of weight that they have been loosing. As a result, physicians are planning on more of these surgeries in the future.

With this surgery being so radial from all the other weight-loss treatments, many are challenging its usefulness in the medical field. Many critics have problems with physicians manipulating the patients brain to suppress these hunger triggers sent to the stomach. Through this surgery, the patient looses the control to determine when they are full or not, which is one of the main reasons behind them becoming obese in the first place. Instead of addressing their issues with food, the surgery is more or less just hiding these issues. Meanwhile, other critics are concerned with the high amount of risk associated with this surgery. There are already surgeries like this one in which surgeons use electrodes in the brain to help control Parkinson's or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. However, critics consider these diseases much more complicated and difficult to treat than obesity. Taking such a large risk-under going brain surgery to curb an appetite, seems a little obtrusive when there are numerous other treatments available for these individuals. Despite what the critics state, the choice to have this surgery performed is ultimately the decision of the individual.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/113367/Brain-surgery-could-be-cure-for-obesity