Methods for controlling obesity using minimally invasive means

Abstract

Methods for controlling obesity using minimally-invasive procedures including introducing embolic crystal particles that are naturally occurring and mostly non-toxic salts into the arterial capillaries feeding the sections of the stomach where the appetite inducing hormone, ghrelin, is produced to limit the blood flow to the region reducing appetite; introducing a virus vector or antisense oligonucleotide to inhibit the production of ghrelin and reduce the appetite; and introducing a soluble embolic particle with a virus vector or antisense oligonucleotide which will inhibit the flow of blood initially and then dissolve and release the inhibit vector to the region, generating ghrelin to control the appetite.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of treating obese patients comprising:
 delivering modified virus vectors to targeted ghrelin production sites.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 delivering embolic particles, enabled to embed modified virus vectors, to the targeted ghrelin production sites.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the virus vectors are embedded in the embolic particles. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the embolic particles comprise magnesium phosphate. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the embolic particles comprise calcium di-hydrogen phosphate. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the embolic particles comprise potassium di-hydrogen phosphate. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the size of the embolic particles is between 300 and 500 microns. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the virus vectors are delivered using a percutaneously introduced catheter guided to the targeted ghrelin production sites using an imaging technique. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the imaging technique is selected from the group consisting of x-ray fluorescence or ultrasound tracking.