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Observational Study
. 2014:2014:185349.
doi: 10.1155/2014/185349. Epub 2014 Sep 30.

A preliminary observation of weight loss following left gastric artery embolization in humans

Andrew J Gunn  1 , Rahmi Oklu  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

A preliminary observation of weight loss following left gastric artery embolization in humans

Andrew J Gunn et al. J Obes. 2014.

Abstract

Background/objectives: Embolization of the left gastric artery (LGA), which preferentially supplies the gastric fundus, has been shown to produce weight loss in animal models. However, weight loss after LGA embolization in humans has not been previously established. The aim of this study was to evaluate postprocedural weight loss in patients following LGA embolization.

Subjects/methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients who underwent LGA embolization for upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding was performed. Postprocedural weight loss in this group was compared to a control group of patients who had undergone embolization of other arteries for upper GI bleeding.

Results: The experimental group (N = 19) lost an average of 7.3% of their initial body weight within three months of LGA embolization, which was significantly greater than the 2% weight loss observed in the control group (N = 28) (P = 0.006). No significant differences were seen between the groups in preprocedural body mass index (BMI), age, postprocedural care in the intensive care unit, history of malignancy, serum creatinine, or left ventricular ejection fraction.

Conclusions: The current data suggest that body weight in humans may be modulated via LGA embolization. Continued research is warranted with prospective studies to further investigate this phenomenon.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
72-year-old male was found to have bleeding at the gastric fundus on endoscopy. (a) Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) of the LGA (black arrow) demonstrated no evidence of contrast extravasation to suggest bleeding. A nasogastric tube is also seen (double black arrows). (b) DSA performed after gelfoam embolization of the LGA revealed a significant decrease in the opacification of the arterial branches in the fundus (black arrow).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bar graph comparing the change in weight between patients after LGA embolization (black bars) or embolization of another celiac trunk branch (gray bars). Patients lost significantly more weight after LGA embolization at the early time point (P = 0.006) but the difference in weight loss was not statistically significant at the delayed time point (P = 0.183).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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