Born For Weight Loss :Acomplia

It’s been several years in the making and believe-it-or-not it’s been 10-years since a new weight loss drug has been approved, but now there’s a new “kid on the block” and it’s expected to be big news as it represents something of a breakthrough in the management of obesity. The name of this new drug is Acomplia.

Acomplia

Acomplia contains a chemical called Rimonabant and it represents one of the latest and indeed most novel methods for controlling body mass because it operates by being a cannabinoid receptor antagonist. This means that it prevents the normal action of endogenous cannabinoid in the brain from stimulating the so-called CB1 receptors. It would appear that these receptors stimulate appetite and therefore when they are “subdued” so is the need to eat.

The origin of this idea was the realization that smoking cannabis tends to induce the sensation to eat, the so-called munchies. This lead scientists to believe that the inhibition of the cannabinoid receptors may lead to the opposite effect. There must have been some interesting proposals as to how to conduct the clinical trials!

So it was the pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis that set out in 2001 to begin clinical trials to establish whether this approach could benefit obese individuals. The results of those trials have resulted in much excitement and the anticipation of the drug’s release, under the brand name of Acomplia. According to Jean-Francois Dehecq, Sanofi’s CEO, Acomplia Diet pill could peak annual sales of $3.6 billion an amount unheard of, even in the lucrative market of weight loss treatments.

So what’s all the fuss about? Let’s look at some of the clinical trials.

Weight loss

Findings of a human 2-year trial with Acomplia were presented at the American Heart Association conference in New Orleans in November 2004. It indicated that 33% of people using Acomplia managed to lose 10% of their body weight and kept their weight down throughout the study period of 2-years, a further third lost 5% of their body weight and kept that weight off too.

Additional long term human study results were presented in March 2005 at the American College of Cardiology. 1036 patients who were either overweight or obese and who also had blood lipid disorders were randomized to one of three groups, those being placebo, 5 mg./ day or 20 mg./ day of Acomplia. After 1-year of treatment, patients receiving 20 mg./ day Acomplia had significant improvements (compared to placebo) in waist circumference, as well as HDL (good cholesterol) levels, triglyceride levels, CRP levels and insulin sensitivity.

During the trial the drug was well tolerated. The only relatively common side effects were mild gastrointestinal effects, dizziness and these were noted to be transient.

“Those who stay on the drug for a year show remarkable weight loss: on average 17 pounds (7.7 Kg).” said Jean Pierre Despres, PhD., Professor of food and nutrition sciences at Lavel University in Montreal. “Plus we saw a real reduction in waist circumference of 3 inches (8 cm).”

But aside from the weight loss, the numerous trials conducted to date have also highlighted other possible advantages for Acomplia.

Source:-www.antiaging-systems.com