Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018799 (heart disease)
 34,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

At present only two drugs are approved for long-term treatment of obesity. Sibutramine inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine. In clinical trials it produces a dose-dependent 5-10% decrease in body weight. Its side effects include dry mouth, insomnia, asthenia, and constipation. In addition, sibutramine produces a small increase in blood pressure and pulse that is a contraindication to the use of this drug in some individuals with heart disease. Xenical is the other drug approved for long-term use in the treatment of obesity. It works by blocking lipase and thus increasing the fecal loss of triglyceride. One valuable consequence of this mechanism of action is the reduction of serum cholesterol that averages about 5% more than can be accounted for by weight loss alone. In clinical trials it produces a 5-10% loss of weight. Its side effects are entirely due to undigested fat in the intestine that can lead to increased frequency and change in the character of stools. It can also lower fat-soluble vitamins. The ingestion of a vitamin supplement before bedtime is a reasonable treatment strategy. The effect on weight loss during long-term trials with these two drugs is shown in Figs 7 and 8 above. Also in this figure is data on phentermine used in trials of six months or more. Although there were differences in mean weight losses with these drugs, when the placebo effect was taken into account they all had a surprisingly similar magnitude of weight loss.
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PMID:Drug treatment of obesity. 1172 27

Obesity is associated with increased risk of conditions such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, and obstructive sleep apnoea. Pharmacotherapy for obesity should be considered in combination with lifestyle changes in obese patients, or overweight patients with other conditions that put them at risk of developing heart disease. Sibutramine and orlistat are the only two anti-obesity medications approved for long-term use. Sibutramine is a serotonergic and adrenergic drug that reduces food intake. Orlistat is a gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor that interferes with fat absorption. However, it commonly causes flatulence and diarrhoea. Rimonabant is the first of a series of endocannabinoid receptor antagonists. It was approved by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) as an adjunct to diet and exercise in treating obesity in 2006. However, despite the extensive clinical trial data, EMEA announced in 2008 that it has recommended suspension of rimonabant because of its psychiatric side effects. Studies evaluating the long-term safety and efficacy of anti-obesity agents are needed.
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PMID:Pharmacotherapy for obesity. 2000 75