European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

THE CURRENT ARMAMENTARIUM OF DRUGS FOR FIGHT AGAINST OBESITY

Anandabaskar Nishanthi*, Mourouguessine Vimal, Selvarajan Sandhiya and Steven Aibor Dkhar

ABSTRACT

Obesity is a condition characterized by the accumulation of excess body fat which endangers the health of an individual. It is associated with increased risk of co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and various cancers. Mounting evidence indicates that even a modest weight loss in obese patients would be hugely rewarding with substantial health benefits. Lifestyle modifications can produce only a small reduction in weight, and adherence to the regimen becomes poorer in long run. Thus, there is need for drugs which can augment the weight loss. At present, there is a dearth of anti-obesity drugs and the therapeutic options are limited. Till date, only five drugs are approved by the US FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) for long term management of obesity, namely orlistat, lorcaserin, phentermine/topiramate, naltrexone/bupropion and liraglutide. This review discusses the various regulators of energy balance and appetite modulation, and highlights the salient features regarding the efficacy and safety of the current anti-obesity drugs. The data were obtained from articles present in databases of Medline and Google scholar.

Keywords: Obesity, weight reduction, appetite, pharmacotherapy, energy homeostasis.