title: Pharmacotherapy of Obesity: Clinical Trials to Clinical Practice.
abstract: This review provides an overview of the current state of drug therapy for obesity, with a focus on four new drug therapies-lorcaserin, phentermine/topiramate, naltrexone/bupropion, and liraglutide 3.0 mg-which have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for long-term management of obesity since 2012. Topics discussed in this paper include rationale for pharmacotherapy, history of antiobesity drugs, and efficacy and safety data from randomized controlled trials with implications for clinical practice.
  
  
  
  Weight loss achieved by currently approved drugs ranges from approximately 3 to 9%, above and beyond weight loss with lifestyle counseling alone, after a year. Response and attrition rates in clinical trials indicate that the benefits of pharmacotherapy range from substantial for some patients, modest for others, and no benefits for others still. Decisions regarding selection of a suitable drug from the available pharmacotherapy options and duration of treatment should be based on the expected and observed benefit-to-risk balance and tailored to the needs of each individual patient using the principles of shared decision-making.
authors.affiliation: Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, 6400 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge, LA, 70810, USA. kishore.gadde@pbrc.edu.
authors.forename: Kishore M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gadde
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, 97239, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pritham Raj
mesh_terms: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005632:Fructose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D000069450:Liraglutide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010645:Phentermine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077236:Topiramate; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents; D001552:Benzazepines; D000077236:Topiramate; D005632:Fructose; C506658:lorcaserin; D000069450:Liraglutide; D010645:Phentermine
keywords: Antiobesity drugs; Obesity; Overweight; Pharmacologic treatment; Pharmacotherapy; Weight loss medications