{"id":19055,"date":"2018-10-25T12:48:55","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T18:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=19055"},"modified":"2023-06-23T10:54:29","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T16:54:29","slug":"can-an-electrical-current-help-you-curb-your-appetite-and-lose-weight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/can-an-electrical-current-help-you-curb-your-appetite-and-lose-weight\/","title":{"rendered":"Can an electrical current help you curb your appetite and lose weight?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Slim
UCHealth is enrolling patients in a clinical trial to determine whether electrical stimulation before meals can help to curb a patient’s appetite and possibly lose weight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Erika Leiker wants to lose weight. She\u2019s set a goal of shedding 30 pounds from her 5-foot, 4-inch, 195-pound frame, but the 36-year-old Brighton resident faces familiar obstacles in her weight-loss quest. Pounds she gained after having two children six years apart have been difficult to take off and keep off. She enjoys eating sweets and carbohydrates. Her job as payroll manager for a school district serving communities northeast of Denver keeps her mostly deskbound.<\/p>\n

Like many people, Leiker says she\u2019s tried different ways to lose weight, both on her own and with the help of programs like SlimGenics and Weight Watchers. Long-term success, however, has been elusive, and achieving it isn\u2019t getting easier, Leiker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLosing 30 pounds is totally doable, and I\u2019ve done it before,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s harder the older you get. Your metabolism slows down and it seems like what I did before to lose weight is what I\u2019m doing now just to maintain the weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Erika
Erika Leiker, right, with daughter Ashleigh, is enrolled in the Elira 2 trial to determine if the product will help patients lose weight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leiker\u2019s weight-loss challenges are familiar, but the path she\u2019s trying now to drop pounds is not. She\u2019s enrolled in a trial at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a> on the Anschutz Medical Campus that tests whether a device commonly used to relieve pain can help people curb their appetite and thereby lose weight.<\/p>\n

Stimulating sessions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The focus of the multi-site trial<\/a> is a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit, which delivers a low-voltage electrical current through the skin. The devices have long been used by physicians, physical therapists and chiropractors to help patients manage acute and chronic pain in various parts of the body. The idea is that the electrical impulses interfere with nerve firings that cause pain.<\/p>\n

In the Elira-2 trial, as it\u2019s called, patients also wear a TENS unit as a blocking device \u2013 the object in this case being appetite rather than pain. Those in the treatment arm receive a \u201cwearable patch system\u201d from Elira Therapeutics Inc., the St. Louis-based study sponsor. The system consists of a wireless TENS unit and a smartphone with an app that alerts participants when it is time for a therapy session. They adhere the device to a skin patch placed at a spot just below the rib cage and receive 30 minutes of electrical stimulation, twice a day, before meals.<\/p>\n

\"Erika
Erika Leiker, center, with friends at a Top Golf team-building event. Leiker hopes the Elira unit can help her reach her weight-loss goal of 30 pounds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The participants can also use the device for as many as three, five-minute \u201crescue sessions\u201d if they have cravings, said Chantal Underkofler, manager the University of Colorado Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinical Trials Program. The app restricts participants from exceeding the 75-minute daily maximum for therapy, Underkofler said.<\/p>\n

The treatment group also gets counseling from providers at UCH on following a 1,200-calorie diet while recording in diaries changes in their appetite and comments about the tolerability of the therapy sessions. A control arm follows the same regimen but without using the patch system.<\/p>\n

Sensitive spot<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Why might a pain-control device spur weight loss? The key is where study participants attach it: the T6 and T7 (thoracic) dermatomes. Dermatomes are areas of skin supplied by a spinal nerve. The theory of the trial is that stimulating these specific dermatomes with electrical impulses causes a bodily reflex that includes constricting the opening to the stomach, thereby reducing the sense of hunger.<\/p>\n

The study excludes people with diabetes, but it if it proves successful as a weight loss tool it could be a boon for patients with the disease, said Dr. Neda Rasouli<\/a>, an endocrinologist and director of the CU Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinical Trials Program. Rasouli is principal investigator for the trial on the Colorado site.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the main problems with diabetes is obesity,\u201d Rasouli said. \u201cWe always talk about modifying diet as an effective treatment for diabetes, but it is difficult to promote it only through counseling. If we can find a new intervention to help people with diabetes lose weight, that will help us with managing the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

A low-risk option<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Elira system potentially adds an accessible treatment tool for providers, particularly those with patients who don\u2019t require losing a great deal of weight. It could augment other treatments, including gastric bypass and other bariatric surgeries; endoscopic treatments, such as balloons inserted in the stomach; medications, and of course lifestyle changes like improving diet and exercise.<\/p>\n

Rasouli said she\u2019s most interested in the Elira system\u2019s success in reducing appetite and achieving weight loss of more than 5 percent, as a 7 percent loss is a key goal of the national Diabetes Prevention Program. \u201cAnything above 5 percent is significant in reducing the risk of diabetes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She added that no side effects except possibly skin irritation accompany the TENS unit treatment, while weight-loss medications carry a variety of unpleasant side effects, including constipation, fatigue and dizziness. If \u2013 and she cautioned that the investigation is \u201cvery preliminary\u201d \u2013 the study yields a side effect-free, effective weight-loss treatment, \u201cit could be a game-changer\u201d for helping people with diabetes, Rasouli said.<\/p>\n

Answers await<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s too soon to tell if or how much the Elira system will help Erika Leiker in her quest to drop pounds.<\/p>\n

In mid-September she had used the unit for eight weeks. She said she\u2019d had no problem following the regimen and had felt mild discomfort from the electrical current only a couple of times. At least for now, though, the results have been mixed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely feel less hungry,\u201d Leiker said. \u201cBut as of now I\u2019ve only lost 2 or 3 pounds. I haven\u2019t yet seen a huge change as far as the scale goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet she also said the counseling and education materials that are part of the trial have helped her to be more conscious of avoiding carbohydrates like the potatoes, pasta and bagels that she loves but that she knows can thwart her weight-loss efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so hard to get away from things like that,\u201d she said. \u201cI just need to be more conscious of carbs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Elira-2 trial is now recruiting. For more information, contact Jessie Santana at 720-848-6233<\/span>\u00a0or <\/em>jesus.santana@ucdenver.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Erika Leiker wants to lose weight. She\u2019s set a goal of shedding 30 pounds from her 5-foot, 4-inch, 195-pound frame, but the 36-year-old Brighton resident faces familiar obstacles in her weight-loss quest. Pounds she gained after having two children six years apart have been difficult to take off and keep off. She enjoys eating sweets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[167,4811,9187,551],"class_list":["post-19055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-clinical-trials","tag-metabolic-and-bariatric-endoscopy","tag-readysetco","tag-weight-and-metabolism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCan an electrical current help you curb your appetite and lose weight? - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Elira-2 trial at UCHealth tests the effectiveness of electrical current stimulation in helping patients curb their appetites and lose weight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/can-an-electrical-current-help-you-curb-your-appetite-and-lose-weight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can an electrical current help you curb your appetite and lose weight?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Elira-2 trial at UCHealth tests the effectiveness of electrical current stimulation in helping patients curb their appetites and lose weight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/can-an-electrical-current-help-you-curb-your-appetite-and-lose-weight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-25T18:48:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-23T16:54:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/10\/GettyImages-951642814.jpgeeeeee-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tyler Smith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tyler Smith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/can-an-electrical-current-help-you-curb-your-appetite-and-lose-weight\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/can-an-electrical-current-help-you-curb-your-appetite-and-lose-weight\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tyler Smith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98c85c0e40c4933eedcec2cd054f349d\"},\"headline\":\"Can an electrical current help you curb your appetite and lose weight?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-25T18:48:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-23T16:54:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/can-an-electrical-current-help-you-curb-your-appetite-and-lose-weight\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1116,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/can-an-electrical-current-help-you-curb-your-appetite-and-lose-weight\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/GettyImages-951642814.jpgeeeeee-1024x683.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Clinical trials\",\"Metabolic and bariatric endoscopy\",\"Ready. 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