Pill that zaps stomach cells could treat nausea and lack of appetite
A capsule that electrically stimulates stomach cells has been tested in pigs, and could one day help treat nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite in people
By Grace Wade
26 April 2023
The ingestible capsule is covered in grooves that wick away fluid
J. McRae (MIT)
A pill has been used to electrically stimulate stomach cells in pigs in order to increase levels of ghrelin, a hormone that regulates hunger and alleviates nausea. If the technology translates to humans, it could treat nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite in people with eating disorders, or those receiving treatments for cancer.
Current interventions using electrical stimulation to ease gastrointestinal symptoms require invasive surgeries. So, Giovanni Traverso at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues designed a non-invasive capsule the size of a raisin that delivers small zaps.
Inside the capsule, a battery generates electrical currents that travel along a gold wire coiled around the outside. Grooves etched onto the surface of the capsule wick away fluid so that the wire can electrically stimulate receptors in stomach tissue that trigger the release of ghrelin. The device is coated in a thin casing that dissolves once it reaches the stomach to ensure it doesn’t stimulate tissues in the oesophagus.
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Traverso and his team tested the capsule in 13 pigs that fasted overnight and were given anaesthetics. Eleven of the animals received 20 minutes of stimulation while the other two received no stimulation.
The researchers measured blood levels of ghrelin before and 10 minutes after stimulation. They found that, on average, ghrelin increased by about 40 per cent in pigs that underwent stimulation whereas ghrelin decreased by about 50 per cent in pigs that didn’t.
