title: Anti-obesity drugs: a review about their effects and their safety.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Amphetamines, rimonabant and sibutramine licenses as anti-obesity drugs have been withdrawn because of their adverse effects. In fact, orlistat is the only available long-term treatment for obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  The efficacy and safety of long-term drug therapy is very important in the management obesity; for this reason, the authors decided to conduct a review on the efficacy and safety of current, past and future pharmacotherapies for weight loss.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Orlistat is a good choice for the treatment of obesity, because of its safety on cardiovascular events and its positive effects on diabetic control, even if it is not as effective as rimonabant or sibutramine in reducing body weight. Regarding emerging anti-obesity therapies in diabetic people, we currently have drugs that have already been marketed including the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists exenatide and liraglutide; other than improving glycemic control, they also suppress appetite reducing body weight. Moreover, some other drugs are currently in study such as tesofensine, phentermine + topiramate, bupropion + naltrexone and bupropion + zonisamide. Furthermore, several additional gut hormone-based treatments for obesity are under investigation in Phase II and III clinical trials, with particular focus on ghrelin, peptide YY, pancreatic polypeptide, amylin and oxyntomodulin.
authors.affiliation: University of Pavia, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S. Matteo, Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, P.le C. Golgi, 2 - 27100 Pavia, Italy. giuseppe.derosa@unipv.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Derosa
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maffioli
mesh_terms: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D061214:Patient Safety; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents