A look at weight loss drugs part 2

To fight the battle of bulge, physicians have only a few drugs to choose from. Some of these drugs are only recommended for short-term use because their long-term side effects remain unknown. Many weight loss experts claims that obese individuals can benefit from weight loss drugs. It is estimated that at least 25% of individuals who are obese may benefit from drug therapy.

The majority of weight loss drugs are derivatives or related to the central nervous stimulant- amphetamine. In the 60s and 70s, it was observed that individuals who took amphetamine and cocaine developed loss of appetite and weight loss. Soon the pharmaceutical companies developed analogues of drugs resembling amphetamine. In the 60s, little was know about addiction and physical dependence. Further, lawyers were not into malpractice at that time and thus, these drugs were used freely. Well, things soon began to change and by the 80s and 90s; lawyers knew there was money to be made in medicine and use of weight drugs declined in the 90s. Today, many lawyers know more about medical practice than physicians.

Besides amphetamine like drugs, other drugs that have been used for weight loss are diuretics and thyroid hormone. Both these drugs are not medically indicated for weight loss, but many patients self prescribe these drug for such use. With better understanding of obesity in the 1980s, different weight loss drugs were manufactured. Drugs like fen-phen helped individuals reduce weight loss, but the drug was associated with serious cardiac side effects and its use has been banned universally.

Since then, two new drugs with different mechanisms of action have been approved for use by the FDA. Sibutramine (Meridia) is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor acts on the appetite center in the brain, and Orlistat (Xenical) is a pancreatic lipase inhibitor and inhibits the absorption of fat from the abdomen. However, these drugs do have side effects and their long term complications remain unknown. At present we have a huge gap in our armamentarium to treat obesity.