title: Deep brain stimulation for obesity--from theoretical foundations to designing the first human pilot study.
abstract: Obesity is perhaps an evolutionary consequence of a species reared with intermittent caloric reward. Humans are hardwired to enjoy food, and our bodies voraciously extract and store energy from food as if each meal was the last. As an amalgam of behavioral and metabolic disturbance, obesity is an attractive target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) since neuromodulation may be able to influence both eating behavior and metabolism. The current pandemic proportions of obesity combined with the failures and morbidity of modern treatments remain the impetus behind the application of DBS to this complex disease. We review the rationale and scientific foundations for obesity DBS and explain how this preclinical evidence has helped sculpt the design of the first human pilot study.
authors: Department of Neurological Surgery, Allegheny General Hospital, 420 East North Avenue, Suite 302, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, USA. tomycznd@upmc.edu
authors: Nestor D
authors: ND
authors: Tomycz
authors: Donald M
authors: DM
authors: Whiting
authors: Michael Y
authors: MY
authors: Oh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014903:West Virginia; D055815:Young Adult