Ambimama - India

For the rising diabetes population worldwide, scientists claimed to have developed a 15-minute non-surgical treatment that could lead to drastic weight loss and reverse the onset of the disease.

A device is put into small intestine to prevent food being absorbed into body.

The breakthrough treatment, considered a cheap and safe alternative to surgery, involves a device called EndoBarrier — a plastic sleeve that is inserted into the intestine of a patient to prevent food being absorbed into the body.

The device is fed through the mouth using an instrument called an endoscope while the patient is awake.

It is so quick to fit that you can get lots more patients treated. The patients loved it so much they didn’t want us to remove it at the end of the trial period. We had no significant side effects and it was easily removed.”

Extensive tests of EndoBarrier have been carried out in the US and Europe and last week the new device was given a license for use on European patients. In a 12-week trial in the Netherlands, patients fitted with the EndoBarrier lost an average of 16kg compared with a control group of patients who dieted and lost just 5kg.

According to its developers, the treatment, which costs £2,000, is about half the cost of the cheapest obesity operation.“The patients who used it continue to lose weight. It gave them the incentive to eat sensibly,” said Gersin.

The EndoBarrier device is fitted to the first two feet of the small intestine where most food is absorbed. During trials the sleeve was able to reverse Type 2 diabetes within weeks by reducing blood sugar levels so they no longer needed drugs. Nadey Hakim, a UK consultant in weight loss surgery, said: “I would love to be able to cure a patient’s obesity with a 15-minute procedure. It’s a very clever idea”.