Weight-loss drug helps shed pounds, tummy fat

[krsna]

 

 

 

Weight-loss drug helps shed pounds, tummy fat

CTV.ca News Staff

 

An experimental anti-obesity drug has been shown to help people lose weight in the first year, and keep it off in the second, researchers said Tuesday. And it might also be good at helping people kick their smoking habit.

 

The results of a two-year trial on the drug, called Acomplia, showed that those who took the pill shed more pounds and abdominal fat than those in the placebo group. They also kept that weight off.

 

The fact that the pill not only reduced weight, but also abdominal fat is significant. Recent studies suggest abdominal fat is a better predictor of a heart attack than weight or the body mass index (BMI).

 

"Reducing abdominal fat is a recognized priority for preventing cardiovascular disease," a statement from the French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis said.

 

The drug, clinically known as rimonabant, also increased participants' insulin sensitivity, lowered triglycerides and significantly improved levels of HDL, so-called good cholesterol.

 

Smoking and eating?

 

Rimonabant may be a two-in-one wonder drug. Previous trials have shown it to be effective in helping patients quit smoking.

 

The drug works by blocking receptors in the Endocannabinoid System -- a part of the brain that regulates hunger, as well as other cravings, such as nicotine and alcohol.

 

Overeating and smoking can cause the EC system to become overstimulated, which can trigger a cycle of increased eating, or sustained tobacco dependence.

 

The breakthrough comes after researchers found that smoking marijuana triggered a "switch" in the brain that made the smoker get the "munchies." That led scientists to theorize the two urges were linked through the same regulatory system.

 

Results of the study

 

Researchers followed 3,040 obese patients over two years.

 

They found that nearly 33 per cent of patients given 20 milligrams of Acomplia lost in excess of 10 per cent of their initial body weight. That is in contrast to 20 per cent of those on five milligrams of the drug, and 16.4 per cent of those on a placebo.

 

As for abdominal fat, patients on 20 milligrams of Acomplia lost eight centimetres after two years, compared to 4.9 centimetres for the group taking five milligrams of the drug, and 3.8 cm for those in the placebo group.

 

The effect of the drug on HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin sensitivity "appeared to be twice that which would be expected from the degree of weight loss achieved," the news release said.

 

As for side effects, patients in the 20 mg group experienced a slightly higher incidence of depression, anxiety and irritability. There was also a slightly higher prevalence of nausea.

 

These findings, presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association annual scientific meeting, back up data from a one-year European trial of 1,500 patients.