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Rimonabant (Acomplia) Successful Again in Reducing
Weight, Waist
European study says it also reduced factors for heart
disease in obese people
 April 15, 2005 - Acomplia. which is still going by
its generic name rimonabant, while it awaits FDA approval, has again won
accolades for reducing bodyweight, waist circumference, and risk factors
for heart disease in obese people, according to results of a randomized
trial published in this weeks issue of The Lancet.
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Related Story |
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Update on this story:
Acomplia (Rimonabant) Miracle Weight-Loss Drug may
not be Magic Bullet but It Works
Not approved by FDA
but long-awaited drug being sold in Europe
October
18, 2006 Hailed as the weight-loss "miracle pill," Acomplia, still
known in the U.S. by its generic name "rimonabant," while it awaits FDA
approval, has been available to Europeans for months. This has provided
a better look at what it can really accomplish. Many senior citizens are particularly interested because of
claims that it reduces abdominal fat, a key marker for cardiovascular
disease, and other health benefits, such as increased "good" cholesterol
and lower blood pressure. Read more...
Older reports:
Weight Loss Miracle
Drug Passes Two-Year Test
May help seniors lose
weight, increase good cholesterol
Nov. 10, 2004 A
new report on the miracle drug Acomplia (rimonabant) says a two-year
test reduced body weight and waist circumference in subjects taking the
drug, demonstrating a significant reduction in abdominal fat, a key
marker for cardiovascular disease, a major concern for senior citizens.
Patients treated with Acomplia 20mg over the two-year period also
achieved a significant increase in HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol), a
reduction in triglycerides and an improvement in insulin sensitivity.
More... 11/10/04*
About the drug at Website for Drug Development
Industry -
Click
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Luc Van Gaal (University Hospital Antwerp, Belgium)
and colleagues undertook a trial (RIOEurope) involving 1507 obese people
from Europe and the USA.
Participants had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m
2or greater, or a BMI greater than 27 kg/m2with abnormal blood fat
levels, high blood pressure, or both. They were randomly assigned 5mg or
20mg of a drug called rimonabant, or a placebo once daily in addition to
a calorie controlled diet. The treatment groups had similar
characteristics. 920 patients (61%) completed the one-year follow-up;
379 in the rimonabant 5mg group, 363 in the rimonabant 20mg group and
178 in the placebo group.
Weight loss at 1 year was greater in patients
treated with 5 mg or 20 mg of rimonabant compared with placebo. More
than 67% of patients who completed treatment with 20mg of rimonabant
achieved 5% or more weight loss, and 39% achieved 10 % or more weight
loss. Patients on 20 mg of rimonabant had greater improvements than
placebo in waist circumference (average reduction of 4 cm), and
cardiovascular risk factors including cholesterol, insulin resistance
and prevalence of metabolic syndrome. The pattern of weight loss seen
with rimonabant was sustained for around 36-40 weeks.
class="NewsStory">The most common side effects leading to study
discontinuation were depressed mood disorders in all treatment groups;
withdrawals due to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, and
anxiety were more frequent in the rimonabant 20 mg group than in other
groups. Serious adverse events did not occur more frequently in patients
treated with the drug than in those on placebo.
Professor Van Gaal concludes: In this study,
treatment with rimonabant over 1 year led to sustained, clinically
meaningful weight loss, reduction in waist circumference, and associated
improvements in several cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors."
In an accompanying Comment Uberto Pagotto and
Renato Pasquali (Sant Orsola-Malpighi General Hospital, Bologna, Italy)
state: These data, and those from the other ongoing clinical trials
with rimonabant, might presumably help us to better tackle obesity and
related metabolic and cardiovascular disease. When additional drugs are
available, we will also have the possibility to individually target the
therapeutic strategies according to phenotype characteristics and to the
pathophysiological mechanism inducing the disease.
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