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[Ltb3105]

I see they're testing out a new med for obesity and addictions.  Will be a year or more before it gets FDA approval but the side effects have been mentioned:  increased irritability, ANXIETY, and nausea.

The last I can tolerate; the first two, I cannot.  Therefore, I guess it won't be for ME.

d*** it.

[Forum Admin]

http://www.acompliareport.com/

Monday, November 15, 2004 commentary:
News Target Insider

Rimonabant ( Acomplia ) results in sustained weight loss for study participants
They lost weight, yes, but not in any way that's very impressive. According to early results, obese study participants lost 19 pounds over two years. That's an average of around 1/5th of a pound per week, or about 1/5th of the weight loss that would be expected from taking up a program of physical exercise.
There are certainly faster and more permanent ways to lose weight, it seems. But perhaps there is no easier way than popping a diet drug. Acomplia wins in that department, hands down. If there's anything bound to financially succeed in America, it's a magic weight loss drug that requires absolutely no effort on the part of patients. But people who want lasting weight loss, without the potential negative side effects of pharmaceuticals, will avoid Acomplia and, instead, alter their food choice and lifestyle habits to support their good health.

News summary:
Source: http://www.usatoday....ight-drug_x.htm

Weight Could Be Over for Miracle Diet Pill

By NY Post
Todd Venezia
11/10/04 9:24 AM PT

Acomplia has also been shown to help stop smoking and increase HDL, or "good cholesterol." The two-year study showed some side effects depression, anxiety, irritability which did not last long. "The results are very encouraging," said Sidney C. Smith Jr., a University of North Carolina cardiologist who had no role in the study.


One Sprint. Many Solutions.

Dieters, rejoice. A new fat-busting pill that stops food cravings before they start could soon be on the market.

Researchers yesterday revealed a new study showing that the diet drug Acomplia helps users shed pounds and keep them off for two years.

That's longer that any other pill has been able to hold off the yo-yo diet effect, which has been one of the biggest barriers to permanent weight loss.


Affects Pleasure Center
The drug works differently from other diet pills, researchers said.

It's the first that apparently affects the pleasure center of the brain, stopping cravings that send people running for a midnight snack and staying at the dinner table for second, third and fourth helpings.

"What we have here now is essentially a brand-new mechanism to treat an epidemic of staggering progression," said Dr. Douglas Green, vice president of regulatory affairs for Sanofi-Aventis, the French pharmaceutical firm that created the drug.

And if that weren't enough, Acomplia has also been shown to help stop smoking and increase HDL, or "good cholesterol," according to a Web site  run by the independent health information organization Medical Week.

Seeking Government Approval
The two-year study showed some side effects depression, anxiety, irritability which did not last long.

"The results are very encouraging," said Sidney C. Smith Jr., a University of North Carolina cardiologist who had no role in the study. "The safety profile looks good. It seems like people tolerate the medication."

Smith said doctors hope this drug will be used to get people to change harmful eating habits and begin a healthier life.

With the results of the study now in, Sanofi-Aventis will beginning the process of seeking government approval to sell the drug in the United States. If all goes well, Acomplia could be ready for use by the middle of next year.  


Acomplia Rimonabant diet pill helps weight loss
  Rimonabant diet drug blocks circuitry in brain that gives body cravings
Rimonabant accomplia, is a new pill which helps fat loss by helping people quit smoking and lose weight at the same time.

The diet drug, rimonabant acomplia, which could be available in a year or two, works by an entirely new approach -- by blocking the same primeval circuitry in the brain that gives urn-smokers the munchies.



Zantrex 3 is a common, weight loss pill but acts differently by speeding up the dieters metabolism. Accomplia pill will suppress the desire to eat and therefore help the dieter to lose weight and fat.

Diet Doctors who heard data on the new pill said that while better living habits should still be the foundation of good health, a new pill could be an important boost for those who cannot lose weight through willpower alone.

''We tell people to diet and exercise, and that advice doesn't seem to be very effective,'' said Dr. Raymond Gibbons of the Mayo Clinic, who called the latest results ''very provocative.''

The French firm Sanofi-Synthelabo, which plans to seek U.S. approval to sell it under the brand Acomplia after more studies are finished next year.

Helped dieters drop 20 pounds in a year
One study found the drug helped people drop 20 pounds in a year, while the other concluded it doubles smokers' success at quitting, at least in the short run. Doctors said the drug is likely to be marketed both for dieting and smoking cessation, but it is likely to be especially appealing to people beset by both problems.

''We think this might be the ideal compound for people who are overweight and smoke,'' said Dr. Robert Anthenelli of the University of Cincinnati, who directed the smoking study.



Doctors say the drug is also noteworthy because it takes a fresh approach to helping people overcome their yearning for food and tobacco. It is the first of a class of medicines that block the so-called endocannabinoid system.

illegal drug makes people ravenous by stimulating this circuitry. The same biological machinery serves crucial everyday purposes by helping the brain regulate hunger and probably other urges, including alcohol craving.

Overeating and smoking can overstimulate this system, which in turn propels people to eat and smoke still more. By temporarily blocking the body's ability to receive these signals, experts believe they can return the system's working to normal.

In the larger of the two studies, Dr. Jean-Pierre Despres of Laval University in Quebec City enrolled 1,036 overweight volunteers, all with big potbellies that put them at especially high risk of heart problems. They were urged to cut 600 calories a day and randomly given either rimonabant or dummy pills.

Lost 10 percent of their body weight
After a year, those who got the higher of two doses of rimonabant had lost an average of 20 pounds and trimmed three inches from their waistlines. Nearly half of them took off 10 percent of their body weight. By comparison, those on placebos lost just five pounds.

Those getting rimonabant improved in other ways, too. Their levels of HDL, the protective good cholesterol, rose 23 percent, while their triglycerides fell 15 percent.

Despres said people taking the drug simply felt less hungry. In an earlier phase of the research, he could tell which volunteers were on the medicine by watching who passed up chocolate cake at the buffet table.

''The bottom line is we found a spectacular drop in waistlines and changes in many other risk factors that are beyond what you would ordinarily expect,'' Despres said.

Anthenelli's study tested the drug for 10 weeks on 787 pack-a-day smokers who wanted to quit but could not. A longer follow-up will see how well they stay off, but in the short run, 28 percent shunned cigarettes for at least a month, compared with 16 percent on dummy pills.

Especially important, Anthenelli said, is that those on the drug gained little or no weight, and a third of the successful quitters actually took off pounds of weight at the same time. Ordinarily, smokers gain six to 10 pounds when they quit.