Sibutramine: A Novel New Agent for Obesity Treatment

Sibutramine is a novel new pharmacologic agent which is a specific reuptake inhibitor for norepinephrine and serotonin. Preclinical data show that sibutramine and its two metabolites reduce food intake of animals eating either high or low carbohydrate diets and of obese Zucker rats. An 8-week clinical trial showed a dose-dependent decrease on body weight. Sibutramine, 5 and 20 mg/day, produced a dose-related weight loss in obese subjects compared to placebo in an 8-week trial. In doses varying from 1 to 30 mg, sibutramine also produced a dose-dependent decrease in weight in the healthy obese population when used in 6-,8-,12-24- and 52-week trials. Although the majority of the weight loss occurred during the first 12 weeks of treatment, weight loss had not plateaued in by 24 weeks in the higher doses. Side effects were mild. This drug shows promise as an antiobesity drug.