Last Updated: 2002-08-07 16:00:45 -0400 (Reuters Health)

LONDON (Reuters) - People willing to take drastic measures to shed weight may soon have an alternative to stomach stapling--electric shock treatments.

A US medical company has scooped up the patents on an electric shock weight-reducing device developed by an Italian doctor.

New Jersey-based Transneuronix has tested the device on 300 patients around the world. The device is implanted near nerves in the stomach wall and sends out a tiny current 12 times a minute.

"This slows down peristalsis, the sequence of muscle contractions that force food along the digestive tract, so you won't feel hungry again quickly," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.

The device also contracts muscles and restricts the amount of food that can pass through the stomach. It can be left on constantly or just used when an urge to binge strikes.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archiv...807elin031.html

Wow... that is utterly *bizarre*.

Interesting concept, but it obviously doesn't address the real issues around overeating and/or obesity. How many people have ever been told by their doctor that food is moving too quickly out of their stomach? "If it ain't broke..."

One of the most bizarre band-aid solutions to date.