Sibutramine: current status as an anti-obesity drug and its future perspectives.
BACKGROUND
Obesity has become a global epidemic with recent estimates of > 400 million obese adults. Despite this, there are few safe and effective pharmacological interventions for obesity. Sibutramine is a weight loss agent, for use as an adjuvant to a comprehensive program of calorie restriction, exercise and behavioral therapy.


OBJECTIVE
The goal of this article is to review the available literature of pharmacological interventions for obesity and specifically to examine data with sibutramine for the short term on safety and efficacy for weight loss.


METHODS
The literature on sibutramine was reviewed after a PubMed and Medline search in March 2008. All randomized clinical trails were reviewed.


CONCLUSIONS
Sibutramine appears to be safe and effective in producing clinically significant weight loss for up to 1 year. Longer prospective clinical studies with sibutramine are needed to evaluate its safety (effect on blood pressure) and ability to maintain weight loss, improve metabolic profiles and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Sharma
Bikash
B
Massachusetts General Hospital, Schizophrenia program, Harvard Medical School, Freedom Trail Clinic, 25 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Henderson
David C
DC
D000328:Adult; D001067:Appetite Depressants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003503:Cyclobutanes / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000187:drug effects
D001067:Appetite Depressants; D003503:Cyclobutanes; C058254:sibutramine