Rimonabant Approved for Obesity Treatment in the UK
Rimonabant (also known as Accomplia,Slimona, Zimulti) has been approved for use in the UK National Healthcare Service (NHS) for the treatment of obesity in those who have not had success with lifestyle changes, or the two other weight loss drugs, Orlistat and Sibutramine. Rimonabant has been withheld from the U.S. markets due to concerns over side-effects such as severe depression.
This approval comes after many concerns over Rimonabant’s possible side-effects. Last month the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had received 720 reports of adverse drug reactions (for a grand total of 2,123) in the UK since the drug launched in 2006.
Rimonabant is the first selective CB1 receptor blocker to be approved for use anywhere in the world. It is an inverse agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB1. Its main avenue of effect is reduction in appetite although some companies have tried to push it through for smoking cessation indications.
One of the most serious considerations of this drug, however, is the potential to theoretically promote neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease in persons who are susceptible. The cannabinoid receptor agonists are neuroprotective against excitotoxicity and there has been one case so far where a patient with clinically silent multiple sclerosis taking Rimonabant expressed the illness. Given the neuroprotective nature of the endocannabinoid system in many experimental paradigms of neurological disease, these potential side-effects are certainly reasons to keep it off our US market.
Kathy Shattler received her Master of Science degree from Michigan State University in E. Lansing Michigan in Human Nutrition. Her twenty-two years of practice includes holding positions as a Lecturer, Chief Clinical Dietitian and Program Manager. Kathy is the Founder of Nutri-Care Consulting and is currently the Nutrition Director of www.CEU4U.COM, an online continuing education management company for Registered Dietitians and Dietetic Technicians.
