Use of an animal model to understand mechanisms underlying reductions in body weight associated with use of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band

The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) is by far the most widely used surgical approach to reduce body weight in the morbidly obese in Australia. The mechanisms that underlie its efficacy are unknown but are more than pure restriction and likely involve an impact on appetite centres in the brain. The aim of this study is to exploit a model of the LAGB in the rat and using this approach we hope to define the possible neural or hormonal links between stomach and brain that underpin the decrease in hunger when the band is inflated.