Addiction pills can aid weight loss

Drugs used to combat addiction can also have a role in tackling obesity, new research has indicated.

US researchers have claimed that combining either naltrexone, used to treat alcoholism and heroin addiction, or the anti-smoking drug buproprion with exercise and dieting can lead to significant weight reductions.

The researchers randomly prescribed either a combination pill containing the drugs or placebo tablets, in addition to all participants put on a diet and exercise programme.

Only half of the 1,700 overweight or obese participants completed the trial.

The researchers found that participants lost between 5% and 6% of their weight over a 12-month period depending on which doses of the drugs they were asked to take. Those who took only placebo lost an average 1.3% of their weight.

Patients had an average weight of around 100 kilograms (15.7 stone) at the start of the study and their body mass index (BMI) - a measurement of weight relative to height - averaged 36, making them clinically obese.

The researchers claim the weight loss was “clinically meaningful” and could point to a reduction in the risk of death through obesity. the study authors said.

However, the study participants showed significant improvement in blood pressure or cholesterol levels

The average weight of the 18-to-65 year old patients was 15.7 stone (100kg) when the study began.

Their average body mass index, a formula calculated from a person’s weight and height, was 36, meaning they could be categorised as clinically obese.

Authorities in the US are currently looking at whether the combined treatment should be licensed. The treatment has side effects which included nausea, headaches, constipation, and dizziness.

Some experts have claimed the weight loss recorded with the drugs was not high enough and expressed concern about side effects.

However, the researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, said although 5% may not seem like a huge weight loss, it could make a real difference in terms of health risks for overweight people.

Naltrexone is marketed in Ireland under the brand names Nalorex and Revia while bupropion is marketed as Zyban.

The study is published in The Lancet journal.

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[Posted: Mon 02/08/2010]