A balloon inserted into a tiny capsule that you have to swallow could be a radical new treatment for obesity.
The silicone balloon developed by a San Diego-based firm works by filling up the stomach which makes the brain think the tummy is full, curbing appetite.
The silicone balloon is packed inside a gelatine capsule that dissolves within minutes of reaching the stomach. It’s then inflated by the doctor using a long thin tube, about the width of a piece of string, which is attached to the balloon at one end and protrudes from the patient’s mouth at the other, the Daily Mail reported.
Air is pumped through the tube into the balloon to inflate it. The tube is then pulled to release it and a self-sealing valve traps the air inside the balloon so that it does not deflate. It takes five minutes to inflate and the patient does not need to be sedated or have an anaesthetic.
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Lindsay Lohan arrested for hitting pedestrian
Lindsay Lohan was arrested on Wednesday after a pedestrian told police that her car struck him as the Mean Girls actress was driving into a hotel in New York City police said.
Lohan’s vehicle clipped a 34-year-old man in an alley, around 2:30 am, police said, and the man later went to a nearby hospital saying he had an injured knee. The actress, who has been in and out of court, rehab and prison since a 2007 drunk driving arrest in Los Angeles, was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident. Police arrested her as she left the Dream hotel in lower Manhattan.
She was charged with a misdemeanour and released, the New York police department’s office of public information said. — Reuters