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octoberclidan · 11 months

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Come Back to Me

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Request: I had an idea that Dean and the reader are dating. One day she feels so insecure, and like Dean doesn’t really love her the way she is. So she finds a witch to cast a spell on her and make her model skinny. Then when Dean finds out he’s not happy and wants his girl back to normal.

Note: There is talk of insecurities around body weight in this, so don't read it if you're triggered by that kind of thing.

Masterlist

Story:

Team Free Will was out for celebratory drinks. It had been a good day, they'd arrived back in the bunker after a long drive and Dean had cooked everyone burgers and fries, and they had finished every last bite; no one could resist Dean's cooking. He liked to cook for everyone whenever they were in the bunker, especially after a long hunt, since everyone got tired of cheap diner food while out on cases. Everyone loved Dean's cooking, and it usually made them all feel a lot better after a long hunt or training session, and [Y/N] was no exception.

They had to keep their strength up for hunts, so [Y/N] spent a lot of free time training with Dean. Sam often asked if she wanted to join him on jogs, but cardio wasn't really her thing, she was more into strength training. [Y/N] was strong. Not as strong as either Sam or Dean, but strong enough to defend herself against demons, werewolves, and vampires. One time she had fought off three werewolves at once on her own, since both Sam and Dean had been knocked out. It was one of the things Dean really admired about her, sometimes on hunts he would pause what he was doing, just for a moment, to watch her take down a monster. Of course he would jump in if she needed it, she wasn't immune to injury or making mistakes, but he knew when she was handling it herself. It always filled him with a sense of pride watching her, since he'd trained her to be a hunter himself after he'd met her on a wendigo hunt several years earlier.

[Y/N] was plus sized. She had been most of her adult life; though she was strong, her muscles weren't defined on the outside. It had never really been something she'd cared about, she knew her body and she knew what worked for her. Sure, her weight had fluctuated in the past, she'd tried several diets, she'd tried laying off the weight training and focusing more on cardio, but she found that all of that lead to a loss in strength, and she needed her strength for fighting off monsters. So, she was happy with her body. At least, she was until that evening in the bar.

That evening they were in their favourite local bar, celebrating their successful hunt. [Y/N], Sam, and Cas were all sitting in a booth enjoying their recount of how well the hunt had gone. Sam and Cas sat opposite [Y/N] while Dean was up at the bar ordering their drinks. Sam and Cas were discussing a new spell they'd come across on the hunt when [Y/N] looked over to the bar to see what was taking Dean so long. No surprise, he was leaning on the bar talking to the tall, fit looking pretty woman behind it. She was giggling at something Dean had said and [Y/N] couldn't stop the sting of jealously she felt when she saw him give the woman his signature smirk and her cheeks blush in response. Dean and [Y/N] were casually dating. They'd never been in a fully committed relationship, but they had slept together on a regular basis for a couple of years, and they went on dates, like out to the movies or for picnics during the summer. Living in a secret bunker made it difficult to bring other dates home, so Dean and [Y/N] had gradually started to end up in each other's beds not long after they found the bunker, only having one night stands with strangers when they were out on the road away from Lebanon. As time had gone on, they both stopped seeking one night stands with strangers, but they'd never discussed being exclusive, and they never had a real discussion about their relationship.

The romantic dates they had weren't overly frequent, but the sex usually was. They'd had celebratory sex, comfort sex, boredom sex, and 'last-night-on-earth-sex', more than a few times. Dean was hot, he knew it too, and his confidence just added to [Y/N]'s attraction to him. He made her feel attractive too. He would touch every inch of her, kiss every bit of exposed skin. The first time she'd been naked in front of him she'd felt a bit insecure, but the hungry look in his eyes quickly replaced every insecure thought in her mind with pure desire.

They hadn't had sex with each other in the last three months, which was unusual. They hadn't really been in the bunker much, at least not at the same time, and motel rooms were often shared with Sam and Cas. There had been an explosion of werewolf cases six months ago when one went on a road trip infecting people in every town he stopped in. The current celebration in the bar was extra special since they'd finally tracked the werewolf down and had killed him. They'd even managed to cure the last two victims he'd infected before it was too late. [Y/N] was hoping for some late night celebratory sex with Dean later, she hadn't slept with anyone else over the last three months either.

"You'd think he'd be nice enough to at least get our drinks first". [Y/N] was pulled from her thoughts by Sam's voice. She looked over to him to see him glaring at the bar, and following his gaze she saw the pretty woman had come out from behind the bar and was now basically sitting on Dean's lap since he was now sitting up on a stool, her hand feeling the muscles in his upper arm, his hand around her waist. The jealously [Y/N] had felt before grew stronger now. Not just from the attention that the other woman was getting from Dean, but also the fact that [Y/N] couldn't see herself being able to sit on Dean's lap on a bar stool. She knew she'd be too heavy, she knew if she did that she'd get funny looks from the people in the bar, and she knew it would be uncomfortable for Dean. She knew she'd look stupid doing what this woman made look effortless, natural... weightless.

"[Y/N]? You with us?" She looked over to Sam who looked concerned. "I asked what drink you wanted, I'll get them". He said when he saw he had her attention. Sam was aware of his brother's bedroom adventures with [Y/N], having walked in on them by accident not long after after started sleeping together, but he didn't know if they actually had feelings for each other since they never acted like a couple around him or Cas.

"Actually I think I'm just gonna head back to the bunker, I'm pretty tired". She gave him a small smile and began to get up from her seat.

"Would you like me to walk with you?" Cas asked but she shook her head, giving him a smile too.

"No, you guys enjoy your night, I'll see you tomorrow". She put on her jacket and made her way to the door, careful not to look towards Dean's direction. The short walk back to the bunker was dark and cold, and [Y/N]'s mind was focused on the image of the woman sitting on Dean's lap the entire way back. She couldn't help the feeling of insecurity creep into her, and she felt her eyes start to tear up as she got to the entrance to the bunker. She made her way to her bed, not bothering to undress, and lay on top of the covers staring up at the ceiling. She'd never felt this insecure about her own body before, and she'd seen Dean flirt with other girls before, so she didn't know why she felt so bad in this moment. Thoughts that she'd never had before began to circle around in her head. Was her relationship with Dean not exclusive because of her body? Was he only intimate with her out of convenience? Maybe if she was thinner, lighter, more like the women in the magazines she often found him staring at, then he'd be happy to only be with her. Maybe then his eyes wouldn't wander so much, maybe then he'd be hers and hers only. Maybe if she wasn't so big he'd have found time for some alone time with her over the last three months, maybe he was losing interest completely. She thought about cutting down on her food intake, cutting down on the strength training, and increasing her cardio workouts. She groaned and turned onto her side, pulling the pillow up to her face to muffle her frustrated scream even thought she knew she was alone. Losing all that weight was going to take a long time. She couldn't just stop eating, and change her exercises, the boys would notice and would make her stop before she got anywhere. She needed a quick fix, something that would get her to where she wanted to be before anyone could stop her.

Before the boys got back, she dragged herself to the bunker's library, hoping to find something in there. She spent an hour looking through old books trying to find a spell, potion, or object of some kind that could do what she wanted, but she couldn't find anything. Researching wasn't really her thing, she didn't know how the books were catalogued or how to know which section to look in. She sat down at a desk after flicking through another useless book and leant her head into her hands, looking down and sighing. Her phone buzzed and she looked over to it to see a text from Sam.

Sam: Hey, you okay? We're missing you over here, feel free to come back, either myself or Cas can come over and walk you back?

She smiled at the text. She loved Sam and Cas, they were family to her and had treated her like a proper member of the team since day one. She couldn't help but notice that Dean's name was left off the text, obviously he was still busy with the woman from the bar. She sent Sam back a quick text thanking him from the offer but said she was going to bed instead. Before she locked her phone again, she had an idea. Flicking through her contacts, she found Rowena's name. Before she could change her mind, she sent her a text saying she needed help, something for Cas, since she knew Rowena had a soft spot for the boys and would be less likely to turn her down if it was for one of them and not her. Once she knew Rowena was on her way, she lay her phone back down and sighed, she wasn't going to talk herself out of doing this.

***

"You want me to do what?" Rowena asked. She had arrived not long after [Y/N] sent the text, and was standing in the library looking quite annoyed that she'd been lied to.

"Please, Rowena. Just do this for me and I'll owe you one".

"I do this for you and I'll have an angry Winchester hunting me down". Rowena placed her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows at [Y/N].

"Dean? You really don't have to worry about him. I'll just tell him I did it myself with some spell I found in the archives. Why would he care whether you made me skinny or not? It's my body".

"Are you two not an 'item'?"

"We're... it's complicated. Can you do it or not?"

"Oh I can do it. It's not very powerful magic, any old witch could find a spell like that and cast it". Rowena scoffed. She looked at [Y/N] who was giving her a pleading look and she rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll do the spell. But you will owe me one".

"Thank you". [Y/N] breathed out, sighing in relief. "When can you do it?"

"I can do it now if you like, I know one of my grimoires has a spell that should do the trick, simple enough ingredients that should be around here, if you let me look". [Y/N] knew that giving Rowena the chance to freely look through the bunker's magical items and spell ingredients wasn't the best idea, and the boys would definitely be angry if they found out, but she cared more about going through with the spell in that moment, so she agreed. Rowena gave her half the list of ingredients to look for, mostly herbs it seemed, and the two of them began looking through the database that Sam had been working on to list the bunker's supplies.

Only thirty minutes later and they met back at the library with everything they needed. Once they had everything set up, Rowena turned to [Y/N]. "Are you still sure?"

"Yes". [Y/N] didn't hesitate for a second. "Can we hurry up? I want to clear up everything before they arrive home".

"Yes, yes, no need to rush me, this won't take more than five minutes. You'll want to sit down for it though, unless you want to risk falling to the ground. This requires taking something from you, you'll lose a lot of energy". Rowena explained.

"Okay, yeah I'll just sit here then". [Y/N] said as she sat down on one of the couches in the library. She looked up at Rowena and nodded, letting her know she was ready.

The spell was short and simple. [Y/N] felt her body start to change as soon as Rowena said the last word of the incantation

She looked down to see her stomach shrink, then her thighs, her arms, even her fingers. She lifted her hands up to feel her face, and she could feel that her jaw was more defined, her neck felt thinner too, and she could feel that her collar bones were sticking out a bit now too. "Well, I think it's safe to say it worked". Rowena looked pleased at herself as she closed her grimoire. "Just remember that this is something you'll need to maintain yourself, the spell simply changed your body, it's not going to keep it like that". [Y/N] nodded in understanding, now feeling very drowsy. "You best get to bed before you pass out". Rowena said as she began walking towards the door. "I'll let you know when I need a favour in return".

[Y/N] pushed herself off the couch and stumbled as she stood up, gripping the table in front of her. Her body was definitely lighter, and her arms were definitely weaker, which left her with a strange feeling of being off balance. She shook her head quickly in an attempt to clear some of the drowsiness, and quickly cleared away the candles and evidence of spellwork. She made it to her bed and crawled under the covers, her bed feeling a lot bigger than it had earlier. She let her eyes close as her tireness got the better of her, and only several moments later she was fast asleep.

***

"[Y/N]? You awake?" Sam's voice was quiet inside her room. He stood in the doorway, slightly confused since it was late, well into the night, but [Y/N] had left her door open and her bedroom light was still on, and she was under her covers. When she didn't answer, he walked over to her bed and pulled the covers down slightly to see if she was asleep. "What the fuck?" His confusion increased ten fold when he saw her. Her shoulders and upper arms were thin, no evidence of her muscles or the body weight she'd been carrying only a few hours ago when she'd left the bar, and her face was a lot thinner than it had been too, almost unrecognisable from the side. "Cas?!" Sam called over his shoulder before returning his focus to [Y/N]. "Hey, [Y/N], wake up". He shook her shoulder and was shocked at how thin she felt under his hand, it just felt like skin and bone.

"Sam? What's wrong?" Cas asked from the doorway.

"Something's happened to [Y/N], she's like a skeleton and she won't wake up, can you do something?" Sam's voice sounded frantic, and he stepped aside so Cas could put his hand on her forehead.

"She seems drained. No energy, like she hasn't slept for days. I don't know what happened but it appears to just be her weight that's been affected; her body fat and muscles. Her mind is fine". He took his hand away and pulled the covers back up over her. "She should be fine, she is a little bit underweight but not dangerously, she should wake up on her own in a few hours".

"That doesn't just happen to someone Cas. Do you think she touched something cursed? What if a witch cursed her? We need to look for a hex bag". Sam started to look under her bed, and Cas nodded and began checking her pockets. They searched her room, her bag, and the pockets of all her clothes but they couldn't find anything.

"Maybe it was a pishtaco? Maybe she ran into one on the way home?" Sam asked.

"Between the bar and here? In Lebanon?" Cas asked, knowing [Y/N] doing something to herself was probably more likely, but Sam didn't seem to think so.

"We should check her for a mark". Sam said as he lifted up [Y/N]'s now very baggy top to check her back, but there was nothing. They checked her stomach and legs too, grimacing at how thin she was, but there was no mark anywhere. "I'm gonna call Dean". Sam said, taking out his phone.

"Sam, there is a possibility that she did something on purpose".

"Why would she do that?"

"I think it's possible that the woman in the bar with Dean had something to do with it".

"You think the bartender was a witch? Or... oh". Sam stopped and looked down at her, finally realising that [Y/N] probably did do something herself. "You really think she'd do something that drastic?" He asked, leaning down to pull the covers back up over her and brushing her hair out of her face. Cas sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"She did seem a bit upset at the bar".

"I'll go and find Dean, try and get him home and sobered up before she wakes up. Can you watch over her while I'm gone?" Sam asked as he started to walk towards the door.

"Of course". Cas said as he sat down on the end of [Y/N]'s bed. Sam took one more look at [Y/N]'s small body under the covers before leaving to find his brother and hopefully get him to help.

***

Dean was angry. Sam had found him still in the bar and had dragged him home, not letting him finish the beer he'd been halfway through, after pulling the bartender off him. Sam had sat him down in the kitchen and made him drink water before throwing a glass of it in his face, which definitely helped sober him up a bit. "She did what?" He asked, pushing himself up from the kitchen table after Sam finished explaining how he'd found [Y/N].

"Well I don't know exactly what she did, but yeah both Cas and I think she did something". Sam said, pushing Dean back down into his chair. "Just calm down a bit, okay? She hasn't woken up yet, Cas said she'll be out for another couple of of hours". Sam could see that Dean was trying to control his breathing, his jaw was clenched and his hands were tight in fists leaning on the table.

"I'm going to see her". Dean said as he stood up again, Sam moved to push him back down but Dean caught his arm this time. "Sam." He warned, glaring at his younger brother. "Don't push it". He pushed past Sam and stalked out into the hall, marching straight to [Y/N]'s room.

"Hello Dean". Cas said from [Y/N]'s bed.

"Where is she?" He asked, not even noticing her under the covers.

"She's right here, but she's still asleep". Cas said, standing up and gesturing towards [Y/N]. Dean walked towards the bed and pulled the covers back to her shoulders, the blood in his face draining as he saw what she looked like. He dropped to his knees beside her bed and couldn't help the tears from forming in his eyes.

"Why would she do this?" He whispered, looking up at Cas. Cas gently put his hand on Dean's shoulder before looking down at [Y/N].

"I don't know Dean, you'll have to talk to her when she wakes up".

"Can you leave us? I want it to just be me here when she wakes up". Dean asked, standing up from the floor. Cas nodded and left, closing the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Dean kicked off his shoes, jacket, and jeans, and pulled back the covers to get into the bed. He carefully pulled [Y/N] over to lie on his chest, cringing at how light and fragile she felt. "What did you do to yourself Sweetheart?" He whispered, lightly stroking her cheek. He held her like like for two hours, all sorts of thoughts running through his mind. He couldn't understand why she'd change her body like that, how was she going to hunt anything without any muscles? How would he be able to train with her without worrying about hurting her? Was this his fault? Had he done something to make her feel like she had to change? He leaned his head back against the bed's headboard, just waiting for her to wake up.

He felt her stirring beneath him after not much longer, and he looked down to see her start to open her eyes. "[Y/N]"? He whispered, stroking her arm. "You awake Sweetheart?"

She swallowed and slowly nodded, becoming aware of the fact that she was lying on top of Dean and there was no hiding what she'd done now. "Yeah". She whispered back, and started to pick at his t-shirt nervously.

"What did you do?" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm and quiet. She shrugged and didn't say anything. He looked up to the ceiling, trying to think about what to say next. He pushed her back so he could see her face, but she wouldn't make eye contact with him. "[Y/N], I need you to tell me what you did and why".

"Are you angry?" She asked quietly.

Dean sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you, yeah, I'm pretty pissed with you right now. I need you to tell me what you did so we can undo it". Her eyes darted up to him as he said that and she immediately shook her head.

"We're not undoing it".

"[Y/N]..." He groaned, shifting so he could swing his legs out of the bed and turned so he was sitting with his back to her, his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. "Tell me why you did this".

"It sounds kinda stupid". She mumbled, looking down in shame, realising how much she'd let her insecurities get the best of her.

"I don't care, just tell me why". He said, turning back around to face her. "Please".

"I... I wanted to be like that woman from the bar. Like the women in the magazines you like to look at, like a model. I want to be thin so you cab pull me onto your lap like you could with that woman. I want to be skinny so you're not ashamed to be seen romantically with me in public. I want to look good enough for you not to want anyone else". She said. "I want you to be attracted to me".

"I am attracted to you [Y/N]".

"Not really, Dean. I know I'm not your type. You only sleep with me when it's convenient. You only go on dates with me when there's nothing better to do".

"You are my type".

"Dean... I'm not. You like tall, thin, pretty women".

"Yeah, I do". Dean said and [Y/N] looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I like hot women". He shrugged. "I'm attracted to hot women whether they're tall, short, thin, bigger, blonde, brunette, curly hair, straight hair... I'm not attracted to certain adjectives [Y/N]. I'm attracted to you. You really think I'd have slept with you as many times as we have if I didn't find you attractive? I think you're beautiful".

"What about the bar woman? Why did you want her instead of me tonight?"

"I didn't... I just... I didn't know you cared that much about it. I thought you and me were casual".

"We are". She muttered, laying back down and turning away from Dean.

"Do you not want to be?" He asked and watched as she shrugged. "[Y/N], I want more with you. I'm just worried that if we're in a proper relationship and then something happens and I lose you, I wouldn't be able to recover". He sighed, lying back down beside her. She turned over and looked at him.

"Do you think it would be easy if you lost me now?" She asked.

"No, of course not. I guess I'm already emotionally attached whether I intended to be or not". He chuckled. "If you want exclusivity, we can do that. I'm all yours if you still want me". Her face softened as he said that and a smile tugged at her lips. "I do have one condition though, you undo whatever crap you did to yourself". Her smiled dropped again and she rolled onto her back. "[Y/N], you can't fight like this, a gust of wind would blow you over, never mind a werewolf or a demon".

"Rowena does just fine and she's tiny". She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Rowena? She's a witch! She's relied on magic her entire life. If Rowena lost her magic tomorrow she wouldn't know where to begin with trying to fend off a fly". Dean said and [Y/N] couldn't help but chuckle. "Did Rowena have something to do with this?" He prodded, taking advantage of the lightening mood and she nodded. "Okay, I'll call her in the morning and we'll get this spell or whatever she did reversed".

"Are you sure you're attracted to my normal body? I know I'm big".

"Yes, [Y/N], I'm sure. I find you sexy as hell. Those thighs of yours fit perfectly around my head. My hands just want to touch your stomach constantly. There is nothing hotter than watching you take on a vampire by yourself and overpower them. We all love you just as you are naturally. I love you".

"You... love me?"

"Yes". He reached over and stroked her cheek.

"I love you too". She smiled at him and he leaned down to press his lips to hers. It was a gentle kiss, he was very aware of the fact that she was still weak and tired. When she tried to deepen it he pulled back and shook his head. "As soon as we get the real you back, as soon as you come back to me, we're staying in bed all day and I'm going to do all sorts of things to that body of yours. We're waiting until you have your proper body back though, no fooling around before then". She complained but he pulled her back onto his chest and pulled the covers back up over them. He kissed the top of her head and couldn't help as his mind wandered to all of the things they were going to do once Rowena fixed everything.

The end

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jcmarchi · 4 months

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Engineers develop a vibrating, ingestible capsule that might help treat obesity

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/engineers-develop-a-vibrating-ingestible-capsule-that-might-help-treat-obesity/

Engineers develop a vibrating, ingestible capsule that might help treat obesity

When you eat a large meal, your stomach sends signals to your brain that create a feeling of fullness, which helps you realize it’s time to stop eating. A stomach full of liquid can also send these messages, which is why dieters are often advised to drink a glass of water before eating.

MIT engineers have now come up with a new way to take advantage of that phenomenon, using an ingestible capsule that vibrates within the stomach. These vibrations activate the same stretch receptors that sense when the stomach is distended, creating an illusory sense of fullness.

In animals who were given this pill 20 minutes before eating, the researchers found that this treatment not only stimulated the release of hormones that signal satiety, but also reduced the animals’ food intake by about 40 percent. Scientists have much more to learn about the mechanisms that influence human body weight, but if further research suggests this technology could be safely used in humans, such a pill might offer a minimally invasive way to treat obesity, the researchers say.

“For somebody who wants to lose weight or control their appetite, it could be taken before each meal,” says Shriya Srinivasan PhD ’20, a former MIT graduate student and postdoc who is now an assistant professor of bioengineering at Harvard University. “This could be really interesting in that it would provide an option that could minimize the side effects that we see with the other pharmacological treatments out there.”

Srinivasan is the lead author of the new study, which appears today in Science Advances. Giovanni Traverso, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is the senior author of the paper.

A sense of fullness

When the stomach becomes distended, specialized cells called mechanoreceptors sense that stretching and send signals to the brain via the vagus nerve. As a result, the brain stimulates production of insulin, as well as hormones such as C-peptide, Pyy, and GLP-1. All of these hormones work together to help people digest their food, feel full, and stop eating. At the same time, levels of ghrelin, a hunger-promoting hormone, go down.

While a graduate student at MIT, Srinivasan became interested in the idea of controlling this process by artificially stretching the mechanoreceptors that line the stomach, through vibration. Previous research had shown that vibration applied to a muscle can induce a sense that the muscle has stretched farther than it actually has.

“I wondered if we could activate stretch receptors in the stomach by vibrating them and having them perceive that the entire stomach has been expanded, to create an illusory sense of distension that could modulate hormones and eating patterns,” Srinivasan says.

As a postdoc in MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Srinivasan worked closely with Traverso’s lab, which has developed many novel approaches to oral delivery of drugs and electronic devices. For this study, Srinivasan, Traverso, and a team of researchers designed a capsule about the size of a multivitamin, that includes a vibrating element. When the pill, which is powered by a small silver oxide battery, reaches the stomach, acidic gastric fluids dissolve a gelatinous membrane that covers the capsule, completing the electronic circuit that activates the vibrating motor.

In a study in animals, the researchers showed that once the pill begins vibrating, it activates mechanoreceptors, which send signals to the brain through stimulation of the vagus nerve. The researchers tracked hormone levels during the periods when the device was vibrating and found that they mirrored the hormone release patterns seen following a meal, even when the animals had fasted.

The researchers then tested the effects of this stimulation on the animals’ appetite. They found that when the pill was activated for about 20 minutes, before the animals were offered food, they consumed 40 percent less, on average, than they did when the pill was not activated. The animals also gained weight more slowly during periods when they were treated with the vibrating pill.

“The behavioral change is profound, and that’s using the endogenous system rather than any exogenous therapeutic. We have the potential to overcome some of the challenges and costs associated with delivery of biologic drugs by modulating the enteric nervous system,” Traverso says.

The current version of the pill is designed to vibrate for about 30 minutes after arriving in the stomach, but the researchers plan to explore the possibility of adapting it to remain in the stomach for longer periods of time, where it could be turned on and off wirelessly as needed. In the animal studies, the pills passed through the digestive tract within four or five days.

The study also found that the animals did not show any signs of obstruction, perforation, or other negative impacts while the pill was in their digestive tract.

An alternative approach

This type of pill could offer an alternative to the current approaches to treating obesity, the researchers say. Nonmedical interventions such as diet exercise don’t always work, and many of the existing medical interventions are fairly invasive. These include gastric bypass surgery, as well as gastric balloons, which are no longer used widely in the United States due to safety concerns.

Drugs such as GLP-1 agonists can also aid weight loss, but most of them have to be injected, and they are unaffordable for many people. According to Srinivasan, the MIT capsules could be manufactured at a cost that would make them available to people who don’t have access to more expensive treatment options.

“For a lot of populations, some of the more effective therapies for obesity are very costly. At scale, our device could be manufactured at a pretty cost-effective price point,” she says. “I’d love to see how this would transform care and therapy for people in global health settings who may not have access to some of the more sophisticated or expensive options that are available today.”

The researchers now plan to explore ways to scale up the manufacturing of the capsules, which could enable clinical trials in humans. Such studies would be important to learn more about the devices’ safety, as well as determine the best time to swallow the capsule before to a meal and how often it would need to be administered.

Other authors of the paper include Amro Alshareef, Alexandria Hwang, Ceara Byrne, Johannes Kuosmann, Keiko Ishida, Joshua Jenkins, Sabrina Liu, Wiam Abdalla Mohammed Madani, Alison Hayward, and Niora Fabian.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Novo Nordisk, the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, a Schmidt Science Fellowship, and the National Science Foundation.

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