Overview
- A small Dartmouth Health trial of 45 people who stopped tirzepatide found that duodenal mucosal resurfacing, an endoscopic procedure, led to less weight regain than a sham procedure.
- Participants who received the procedure gained about seven pounds on average and kept more than 80% of their earlier weight loss, and researchers reported no serious complications.
- The technique guides a camera through the mouth to the duodenum and uses controlled heat to remove the inner lining, which researchers say may reset gut signals that influence appetite and blood sugar.
- The findings are early and not yet peer-reviewed, and larger, longer studies are needed before doctors know if the approach works widely.
- Context from a BMJ review of 37 studies shows most people who stop GLP-1 medicines regain roughly 22 pounds within a year and tend to return to baseline weight and cardiometabolic measures by about 17 months.