An Optimized IES Method and Its Inhibitory Effects and Mechanisms on Food Intake and Body Weight in Diet-Induced Obese Rats: IES for Obesity

Purpose: This paper aims to optimize stimulation parameters and durations for intestinal electrical stimulation (IES) and to explore the effects and mechanisms of chronic IES with optimized methodology in obesity rats. Materials and Methods: Sixteen diet-induced obese (DIO) rats were tested for food intake with four different sets of IES parameters each lasting 1 week. Then, another 12 DIO rats were used to test the effect of IES on food intake with different stimulation durations. Finally, 16 DIO rats were treated with IES or sham-IES for 4 weeks. Meal patterns, food intake, and body weight were observed. Mechanisms involving gastrointestinal motility, ghrelin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were studied. Results: (1) Acute IES with different parameters showed different inhibitory effects on food intake, and the most effective parameters were 0.6 s on, 0.9 s off, 80 Hz, 2 ms, and 4 mA with which 26.3% decrease in food intake was noted (p < 0.001). (2) IES with daily treatment of 12 h was most effective in suppressing food intake compared with 1 or 6 h. (3) Four-week IES reduced net weight by 10.9% (p < 0.05 vs. sham-IES) and epididymal fat pad weight by 13.9% (p < 0.001). (4) IES delayed gastric emptying (p < 0.001) and accelerated intestinal transit (p < 0.05). (5) IES increased both fasting and postprandial plasma levels of GLP-1 but not ghrelin. Conclusion: Twelve-hour daily IES using optimized stimulation parameters reduces food intake and body weight in DIO rats by altering gastrointestinal motility and GLP-1. The IES methodology derived in this study may have a therapeutic potential for obesity.