Thoracic Duct Narrowing—Innovative Technique Restraining Weight Gain in Rats

Barak Rosenzweig*, Iris Barshack, Dror Harats, Aviv Shaish

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The lymphatic system is responsible for the absorption of fats from the digestive system, conveying 60–70 % of ingested fat to the blood stream. From the anatomical point of view, all the lymphatic drainage from the lower half of the body converges in the abdomen to enter the thoracic duct. This experimental study aim was to study the result of thoracic duct narrowing (TDN), an innovative surgical technique, on weight gain restrain in high-fat diet-fed rats. Methods: Forty-seven rats were allocated into three groups: thoracic duct narrowing (“S”—surgery), sham operation (“CS”—control surgery), and no surgery (“C”—control). All rats were fed with high-fat, cholesterol-rich diet. Food consumption and metabolic syndrome parameters including weight gain, plasma lipids and glucose, blood pressure, and viscera weight and histopathology were analyzed. Results: Thoracic duct narrowing was proved simple and safe surgical procedure in the rat model. TDN induced weight gain restrain, associated with mild hepatic steatosis compared to moderate-severe hepatic steatosis in control groups. Splenomegaly and splenic fatty histiocytes were shown in the treated animals. Conclusions: TDN improved several parameters of the metabolic syndrome in high-fat diet-fed rats. TDN carries the potential of innovative obesity treatment using the lymphatic route of lipid absorption.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2443-2450
Number of pages8
JournalObesity Surgery
Volume25
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2015

Keywords

  • Hepatic steatosis
  • Splenic fatty histiocytes
  • Thoracic duct
  • Weight gain
  • Weight reduction

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