Primary Pulmonary Hypertension News - Menu Other Prescription Weight-Loss Drugs There are just two weight loss drugs, Xenical and Meridia, that are currently have approval for long-term use in the United States. The FDA is also considering approval of Acomplia. Any other drugs all are recommended for short-term use. Patients should read the description of the side-effects and risks so they understand what they are. Acomplia or Rimonabant Xenical or Orlistat Meridia or Sibutramine Adipex-P or Phentermine Bontril or Phendimetrazine Didrex or Benzphetamine Tenuate or diethylpropion Diet Drugs, Weight Loss Drugs Beingr Developed APD356 Acomplia CP-945598 Serotonin could be a key in regulating body weight By Lee Bowman Tucson, Arizona - 07.20.2006 - The brain chemical serotonin activates some cells that curb appetite and blocks others that normally increase hunger at the same time, according to a new study into the effects of several weight-loss drugs. Working with mice, researchers from several institutions sought to learn whether serotonin acts on specific brain circuits in the hypothalamus region that are known to regulate the body's energy balance. Their tracer experiments showed that receptors for serotonin dot specific nerve cells within these circuits. And they found that both serotonin and drugs such as fenfluramine and sibutramine (Meridia), which change levels of serotonin, act on those brain cells to reduce the release of one protein that stimulates appetite and aids the release of another protein that helps curb the desire to eat. Fenfluramine with phentermine, known as fen-phen, helped tens of thousands of people lose weight. But the combination was also linked to heart problems, including defects in the valves of the heart or a form of hypertension, in many patients. It was removed from the market in 1997. The mechanisms of how the drugs caused weight loss never were fully determined. Researchers led by Dr. Joel Elmquist, then at Harvard Medical School and now at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, began studying those molecular pathways that reduce appetite, working with both normal mice and those genetically engineered to be lean or fat. In 2002, they found that drug-induced serotonin releases activate brain cells to, in turn, release a hormone that reduces appetite. "The more we understand about the pathways and the way serotonergic drugs regulate body weight, the more it one day might lead to harnessing the beneficial properties of anti-obesity treatments like fen-phen and minimizing the harmful side effects," said Elmquist, a professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern.
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