Medicinal strategies in the treatment of obesity.
When prevention fails, medicinal treatment of obesity may become a necessity. Any strategic medicinal development must recognize that obesity is a chronic, stigmatized and costly disease that is increasing in prevalence. Because obesity can rarely be cured, treatment strategies are effective only as long as they are used, and combined therapy may be more effective than monotherapy. For a drug to have significant impact on body weight it must ultimately reduce energy intake, increase energy expenditure, or both. Currently approved drugs for long-term treatment of obesity include sibutramine, which inhibits food intake, and orlistat, which blocks fat digestion.
Bray
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GA
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808, USA. BrayGA@pbrc.edu
Tartaglia
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LA
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000187:drug effects; D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000187:drug effects; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy*
D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents; D004041:Dietary Fats; D009479:Neuropeptides