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For scheduling, call 315-454-4810, Press 1 | For more information visit our website at MDRcny.com • Auburn Office • E. Syracuse – 5000 Brittonfield, Ste. A114* (Wide Bore Scanner) • Medical Center West – Camillus • North Office – Liverpool* • Northeast Office – Fayetteville* • Crouse POB – Syracuse* * MRI Breast Imaging Center P ROV I D I N G PAT I E N T- F R I E N D LY C A R E I N A C O M F O RT I N G E N V I RO N M E N T AT A L L S I X C O N V E N I E N T LO C AT I O N S MDR's caring and professional staff will put you at ease. T E X A S A& M U NI V E R SI T Y researchers developed a wireless, implantable device that uses light to stimulate the endings of the vagus nerve. Affixed to the stomach, the Texas A&M device suppresses hunger by prompting the vagus nerve to communicate a feeling of fullness from the stomach to the brain. Small currents in the centimeter-long device power micro-LEDs, which produce light when triggered by a remote radio frequency emitter; other vagus nerve stimulators intended to treat obesity require wires to connect to a power source. During testing in mice, the team found that vagus nerve receptors do not necessarily have to communicate to the brain that the stomach is stretched to produce satiety. "Our findings suggest that stimulating the non-stretch receptors, the ones that respond to chemicals in the food, could also give the feeling of satiety even when the stomach was not distended," said Texas A&M College of Engineering writer Rachel Rose and researcher Sung Il Park, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M, in a university news release. The team believes the device could serve as a minimally invasive alternative to gastric bypass surgery. n Researchers Uncover New Mechanism for Vagus Nerve Hunger Suppression BY THOMAS CROCKER AN INNOVATIVE DE VICE THAT STIMUL ATES THE VAGUS NERVE TO TRICK THE STOMACH INTO FEELING FULL MAY PRODUCE SATIE T Y IN AN UNE XPECTED WAY.