Photodynamic therapy offers an alternative to bariatric surgery
Photodynamic therapy offers an alternative to bariatric surgery lead image
Metabolic syndrome, which increases risks for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, is on the rise globally due to poor eating habits and lack of exercise. In addition to lifestyle changes, bariatric surgery is one approach to treat MS in obese patients. However, this invasive procedure comes with many risks and very few patients are actually eligible to undergo it. Instead, researchers are developing alternative therapies like duodenal mucosal resurfacing (DMR), a less invasive procedure that targets the start of the small intestine.
Park et al. presented the results of a non-thermal photodynamic therapy (PDT) using a novel metal stent covered in photosensitizers that aimed to reduce the risk of thermal ablation injury that typically occurs with DMR therapies. They tested the stent in eight Yorkshire pigs, which have similar intestinal anatomy to humans. Their results showed the procedure helped improve metabolic diseases and reduced risk of complications due to thermal energy.
“In this study, it was confirmed that even a novice can easily perform the procedure using a specially developed stent,” said author Chan Su Park. “Since the technical barrier is not high, it is expected that it can be easily applied in actual clinical practice.”
The authors believe the stent can replace existing endoscopic bariatric metabolic therapies. However, it will have to be tested in other animal models like minipigs and dogs before it is ready for human use.
“We hope that PDT-DMR can serve as a bridge between lifestyle modifications, drug treatment, and surgical treatment in the existing spectrum of metabolic disease treatments.”
Source: “Highly functional duodenal stent with photosensitizers enables photodynamic therapy for metabolic syndrome treatment: A feasibility and safety study in a porcine model,” by Chan Su Park, Hyun Jin Park, Ji Hoon Park, Jin Hee Lee, Hyun Jung Kee, Jung Hoon Park, Jung Hyun Jo, Hee Seung Lee, Cheol Ryong Ku, Jeong Youp Park, Seungmin Bang, Jung Min Song, Kun Na, Sung Kwon Kang, Hwoon-Yong Jung, and Moon Jae Chung, APL Bioengineering (2024). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0206328 .
