Drug treatments for obesity

Serotonin & Noradrenaline Related Drugs

By Bruce McLintock

Sibutramine is a drug, originally used in the treatment of depression, which is now used to help obese and overweight patients lose weight, and along with Orlistat, is the only drug licensed for use in the UK. It acts within the hypothalamus by preventing reuptake of both noradrenaline and serotonin. This inhibition causes the patient increased feelings of satiety, a decreased appetite, and a corresponding reduced intake of food which results in weight loss. Certain studies have shown that sibutramine may increase thermogenesis and as such, contribute to weight loss, but there have also been other studies in which no such effects were shown, and it seems fair to say that this action seems to only contribute in, at most, a minor way to weight loss.

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↑ Tziomalos K et al. The use of sibutramine in the management of obesity and related disorders: An update. Vascular Health and Risk Management 5:1 pp. (2009) 441-452. (Sibutramine, in conjunction with lifestyle measures, is a useful drug for reducing body weight and improving associated cardiometabolic risk factors and obesity-related disorders. Studies of longer duration are required to determine the precise indications of the drug, to evaluate safety issues and to assess its efficacy on cardiovascular mortality. )
↑ Coutinho W (2009) The first decade of sibutramine`and orlistat: a reappraisal of their expanding roles in the treatment of obesity and associated conditions. Arquivos brasileiros de endocrinologia e metabologia 56:2 pp. 262-270. (The most widely used anti-obesity agents are sibutramine and orlistat, both available in clinical practice for about a decade. A large number of clinical trials have demonstrated that both agents are safe and well tolerated, with a level of efficacy in the moderate weight loss recommended by the most relevant clinical guidelines.)
↑ "Part 2," Appetite and obesity. 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2009 from http://www.appetiteandobesity.org/part2.html

[1] Tziomalos K et al. The use of sibutramine in the management of obesity and related disorders: An update. Vascular Health and Risk Management 5:1 pp. (2009) 441-452. (Sibutramine, in conjunction with lifestyle measures, is a useful drug for reducing body weight and improving associated cardiometabolic risk factors and obesity-related disorders. Studies of longer duration are required to determine the precise indications of the drug, to evaluate safety issues and to assess its efficacy on cardiovascular mortality. )

[2] Coutinho W (2009) The first decade of sibutramine`and orlistat: a reappraisal of their expanding roles in the treatment of obesity and associated conditions. Arquivos brasileiros de endocrinologia e metabologia 56:2 pp. 262-270. (The most widely used anti-obesity agents are sibutramine and orlistat, both available in clinical practice for about a decade. A large number of clinical trials have demonstrated that both agents are safe and well tolerated, with a level of efficacy in the moderate weight loss recommended by the most relevant clinical guidelines.)

[3] "Part 2," Appetite and obesity. 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2009 from http://www.appetiteandobesity.org/part2.html

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Drug treatments for obesity

Serotonin & Noradrenaline Related Drugs

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