A New Drug That Fights 2 Bad
Habits
Thursday, August 5, 2004
HealthDayNews -- A new drug that goes by the name of
rimonabant tackles two of the most unhealthy habits
known to humans -- smoking and overeating -- and it's
getting cautious accolades from experts.
"A drug that potentially lowers two types of repetitive
behaviors -- maintaining obese weight and also smoking
-- is a drug that has interesting properties. While
it isn't a magic bullet, it certainly does seem to be
effective in both arenas," said American Heart
Association President-Elect Dr. Robert H. Eckel.
Earlier this year, Sanofi-Synthelabo Inc., the French
maker of the double-whammy drug, released two studies
suggesting rimonabant (brand name ACOMPLIA) could help
smokers quit while helping them stay trim at the same
time. It is currently awaiting U.S. Food and Drug Administration
approval.
In one study, more than 1,000 overweight subjects took
either daily doses of rimonabant or a placebo for one
year while dieting.
The study's Canadian researchers reported that while
the placebo group lost an average of 5 pounds during
the year, those on rimonabant dropped 20 pounds on average,
or about 10 percent of their body weight. The drug was
also associated with improvements in blood levels of
cholesterol and triglycerides, a dangerous blood fat.
A second study looked at the drug's effects on smoking
cessation. In that study, nearly 800 heavy smokers intent
on quitting received either daily rimonabant or a placebo
for 10 weeks. Longer-term results are forthcoming, but
according to the researchers, 28 percent of those on
rimonabant stayed away from cigarettes for at least
a month, compared to just 16 percent of those on placebo.
What's more, those who quit while using rimonabant
tended to experience none of the weight gain usually
associated with smoking cessation, while some even lost
weight. Side effects were minimal, the researchers added.
Rimonabant is the first of a new class of drugs that
act to block the brain's endocannabinoid system, thought
to be responsible for a range of cravings, including
those for food and nicotine.
Commenting on the studies, Dr. Norman Edelman, of the
American Lung Association, said his group "always
welcomes news of new smoking-cessation aids and from
these preliminary data this one looks promising."
Smoking is by far the leading cause of the number one
killer cancer, lung cancer, and it's also linked to
other lung conditions such as emphysema and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).
Lung cancer was also on the mind of Dr. LaMar McGinnis,
a senior medical consultant at the American Cancer Society.
"We are excited about the potential for this, but
we are in a wait-and-see mode," he said, stressing
that more study on the long-term effects of rimonabant
are needed.
Leslie Hare, a representative of Sanofi-Synthelabo,
said those studies are currently under way, with new
findings to be released later this summer.
Eckel stressed that rimonabant isn't a "miracle
drug," however. "The amount of weight reduction
with this drug isn't that impressive," he said.
"It's modest to moderate, like that seen with other
appetite suppressants such as Xenical, other drugs that
are out there for weight reduction."
Eckel also noted that rimonabant didn't help everyone
to quit smoking. "Some people didn't respond, and
some people just cut back modestly on their smoking.
So this isn't a magic bullet," he said.
Still, any pharmaceutical advance that could help reduce
the 800,000 heart disease- and cancer-related deaths
attributed to smoking and obesity
in the United States each year is welcome news, Eckel
said. He believes rimonabant may some day have an important
role to play in curbing both smoking and weight gain.
"It appears to be a helpful adjunct to the other
options we have available," he said.
Source: www.ajc.com
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