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Lose Weight and Quit Smoking With New Drug
Feb. 17, 2004 -- Lose weightand quit smoking? A new drug promises to help people do just that.
The drug is called rimonabant. And no, you can't get it -- yet. But early data from advanced clinical trials may indicate you may see it before too long. Its planned brand name -- pending FDA approval -- is Acomplia.
It's already picked up a nickname: the munchies drug. That's because rimonabant acts like marijuana in reverse, cutting appetite and curbing the craving for nicotine. In two large-scale clinical trials, the drug has helped people with weight loss and smoking cessation.
Researchers and officials from drug maker Sanofi-Synthelabo today held a press conference to discuss the findings.
"Those who stay on drug for a year show remarkable weight loss: 17 pounds," said Jean Pierre Despres, PhD, professor of food and nutrition sciences at Laval University, in Montreal. "And we saw a remarkable reduction in waist circumference of 8 centimeters or [3 inches]."
"Rimonabant ... roughly doubled the odds of quitting smoking," said Robert Anthenelli, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. "We also found remarkably reduced postcessation weight gain: a 77% reduction versus placebo. ... These dual effects on smoking cessation and reduced weight gain make rimonabant a promising agent for treating tobacco dependence."
Weight Loss Where It Counts
The weight-loss study enrolled more than 1,000 moderately obese men and women whose cholesterol and blood-fat levels put them at high risk of diabetes. Half of them had what is known as the metabolic syndrome, a combination of abdominal fat, high blood pressure, high blood-fat levels, low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, and high blood-sugar levels.
After a year on a diet that restricted daily calories by 600, more than one in four study participants who got inactive placebo pills lost more than 5% of their body weight. Only one in 10 lost more than 10% of their body weight. But nearly three of four participants who got 20 mg doses of Acomplia lost at least 5% of their body weight -- and nearly half lost more than 10%.
That's impressive weight loss for any clinical trial. But Despres says that people who took Acomplia lost the most dangerous pounds -- abdominal fat. Half of those who had metabolic syndrome no longer had the condition after treatment with the 20-milligram dose of Acomplia.
"I am very impressed in the increase in [good] HDL cholesterol generated by this one-year rimonabant therapy," Despres said. "The 20-milligram dose was able to generate a 20% increase in HDL, accompanied by more than a 10% decrease in triglycerides [blood fats]. Those who completed the full study had even more spectacular results: a 25% increase in HDL."
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