title: Obesity pharmacotherapy: current perspectives and future directions.
abstract: The rising tide of obesity and its related disorders is one of the most pressing health concerns worldwide, yet existing medicines to combat the problem are disappointingly limited in number and effectiveness. Recent advances in mechanistic insights into the neuroendocrine regulation of body weight have revealed an expanding list of molecular targets for novel, rationally designed antiobesity pharmaceutical agents. Antiobesity drugs act via any of four mechanisms: 1) decreasing energy intake, 2) increasing energy expenditure or modulating lipid metabolism, 3) modulating fat stores or adipocyte differentiation, and 4) mimicking caloric restriction. Various novel drug candidates and targets directed against obesity are currently being explored. A few of them are also in the later phases of clinical trials. This review discusses the development of novel antiobesity drugs based on current understanding of energy homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, 202002, India. drmonikamisra@gmail.com
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Misra
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001067:Appetite Depressants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents; D001067:Appetite Depressants