title: Effects of the 5-HT2C receptor agonist meta-chlorophenylpiperazine on appetite, food intake and emotional processing in healthy volunteers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The treatment of obesity is an increasing global health priority, yet few effective drug treatments are currently available. The discovery of novel anti-obesity therapies could be assisted by the validation of experimental (translational) medicine models in healthy volunteers that assess efficacy and safety at an early stage of drug development.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the 5-HT2C receptor agonist meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) in an experimental medicine model assessing both appetite and mood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a between-subjects, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 24 male and 24 female participants were randomly assigned to either placebo, 15- or 30-mg mCPP treatment groups. Lunch was eaten from a Universal Eating Monitor (UEM) that measured eating rate, and the participants completed the P1vital® Oxford Emotional Test Battery (ETB) and a series of appetite and mood ratings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  mCPP reduced appetite and, in women, enhanced measures of satiation. The drug also enhanced memory for emotional material in the word recall and recognition memory tasks of the ETB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results provide new insight into the effects of mCPP on appetite, satiety and memory in humans. In addition, our data provide an illustration of the value of measuring changes in appetite and mood in healthy volunteers to determine the potential efficacy and safety of novel anti-obesity drugs.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK, thomasjm@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Dourish
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tomlinson
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hassan-Smith
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higgs
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D044405:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2C / Q000378:metabolism; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012527:Satiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D058826:Serotonin 5-HT2 Receptor Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010879:Piperazines; D044405:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2C; D058826:Serotonin 5-HT2 Receptor Agonists; C015068:1-(3-chlorophenyl)piperazine; D006854:Hydrocortisone