New Weight Loss Pill Originally For Diabetes Superior to Orlistat
On October - 26 - 2009 Comments
The Lancet this week showed a new study which found the diabetes drug liraglutide helped obese individuals shed more weight than with the popular diet pill orlistat (Xenical, Alli).
According to Reuters Health, Dr. Arne Astrup from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark said that the findings that liraglutide was better than orlistat was, “unexpected.”
Until now, liraglutide has only been tested for its blood sugar-lowering abilities in people with type 2 diabetes. “This is the first state of the art trial to test its weight loss properties” in obese adults without diabetes, Astrup said.
The biggest findings with liraglutide, Astrup said, were the “clear-cut” dose-response relationship with weight loss (the higher the dose, the greater the weight loss), “the nice reduction in blood pressure, and the “cure” of patients with “pre-diabetes” – that is, poor blood sugar control not yet bad enough to qualify as diabetes.
In the study, 564 obese adults without diabetes were randomly assigned to receive liraglutide at one of four doses (1.2, 1.8, 2.4, or 3.0 milligrams), placebo, or orlistat (120 milligrams). Liraglutide and placebo were given once daily as an injection, while orlistat was given three times a day in pill form.
All participants in the study increased their physical activity throughout the trial and followed a calorie-restricted diet, which contained approximately 500 calories less than they needed each day.
People who took liraglutide lost significantly more weight than people who took placebo or orlistat, Astrup and colleagues found. Liraglutide contains a satiety hormone that helps curb appetite.
Average weight loss with the lowest liraglutide dose (1.2 mg) was 4.8 kilograms (10.6 pounds); with 1.8 mg liraglutide, subjects lost an average of 5.5 kg (12.1 pounds); with 2.4 and 3.0 mg liraglutide, subjects lost an average of 6.3 kg (13.9 pounds) and 7.2 kg (15.8 pounds), respectively.
This compares with an average weight loss of only 2.8 kg (6.2 pounds) with placebo and 4.1 kg (9 pounds) with orlistat.
Moreover, 76 percent of subjects taking the highest dose of liraglutide lost more than 5 percent of their body weight compared with only 30 percent on placebo and 44 percent on orlistat.
Liraglutide also lowered blood pressure at all doses.
At the start of the study, about a third of subjects in each group were considered “pre-diabetic.” At the higher doses, liraglutide cut the number of pre-diabetics significantly — by 84 to 96 percent.
Nausea and vomiting were reported more often with liraglutide than with placebo, but side effects were usually transient and seldom led to discontinuation of treatment.
Astrup, who is a member of the Liraglutide Obesity Advisory Board of Novo Nordisk, the company developing the drug, noted that “liraglutide has to pass phase III trials before it can reach the market in the coming years. However, the drug is available for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Europe.”
Dr. George A. Bray, from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, comments in a related editorial: “Whether long-term use of an injectable drug is palatable as a treatment for obesity is yet to be established.”
The Lancet this week showed a new study which found the diabetes drug liraglutide helped obese individuals shed more weight than with the popular diet pill orlistat (Xenical, Alli).According to Reuters Health, Dr. Arne Astrup from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark said that the findings that liraglutide was better than orlistat was, “unexpected.”
Until now, liraglutide has only been tested for its blood sugar-lowering abilities in people with type 2 diabetes. “This is the first state of the art trial to test its weight loss properties” in obese adults without diabetes, Astrup said.
The biggest findings with liraglutide, Astrup said, were the “clear-cut” dose-response relationship with weight loss (the higher the dose, the greater the weight loss), “the nice reduction in blood pressure, and the “cure” of patients with “pre-diabetes” – that is, poor blood sugar control not yet bad enough to qualify as diabetes.
In the study, 564 obese adults without diabetes were randomly assigned to receive liraglutide at one of four doses (1.2, 1.8, 2.4, or 3.0 milligrams), placebo, or orlistat (120 milligrams). Liraglutide and placebo were given once daily as an injection, while orlistat was given three times a day in pill form.
All participants in the study increased their physical activity throughout the trial and followed a calorie-restricted diet, which contained approximately 500 calories less than they needed each day.
People who took liraglutide lost significantly more weight than people who took placebo or orlistat, Astrup and colleagues found. Liraglutide contains a satiety hormone that helps curb appetite.
Average weight loss with the lowest liraglutide dose (1.2 mg) was 4.8 kilograms (10.6 pounds); with 1.8 mg liraglutide, subjects lost an average of 5.5 kg (12.1 pounds); with 2.4 and 3.0 mg liraglutide, subjects lost an average of 6.3 kg (13.9 pounds) and 7.2 kg (15.8 pounds), respectively.
This compares with an average weight loss of only 2.8 kg (6.2 pounds) with placebo and 4.1 kg (9 pounds) with orlistat.
Moreover, 76 percent of subjects taking the highest dose of liraglutide lost more than 5 percent of their body weight compared with only 30 percent on placebo and 44 percent on orlistat.
Liraglutide also lowered blood pressure at all doses.
At the start of the study, about a third of subjects in each group were considered “pre-diabetic.” At the higher doses, liraglutide cut the number of pre-diabetics significantly — by 84 to 96 percent.
Nausea and vomiting were reported more often with liraglutide than with placebo, but side effects were usually transient and seldom led to discontinuation of treatment.
Astrup, who is a member of the Liraglutide Obesity Advisory Board of Novo Nordisk, the company developing the drug, noted that “liraglutide has to pass phase III trials before it can reach the market in the coming years. However, the drug is available for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Europe.”
Dr. George A. Bray, from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, comments in a related editorial: “Whether long-term use of an injectable drug is palatable as a treatment for obesity is yet to be established.”
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I am sitting with one of the world’s most successful models in an Italian restaurant in New York, and the model is eating. First she demolishes the contents of the bread basket – hunks of chewy yeasty dough, the kind of crusts Manhattan dentists cite in lawsuits. Then she sets upon a prosciutto, polenta and smoked mozzarella starter that, by my estimate, must surely be 764 calories of creamy, fat-laden comfort food, followed by a main dish of red snapper. I’m all for skipping pudding but she’s a fan of the crème brûlée. She orders two, one for me, one for her. She gives the brittle topping a brisk whack with her spoon. “Isn’t that just the best bit?” she says.
Losing 300+ pounds…his passion for no child to live as he did!
Tollie, who lived his life as “the fat kid” and dealt with his self-inflicted circumstances in a self-destructive way, ballooned to over 500 pounds by the age of 24.
The pothole-ridden first few chapters of Tollie’s life are viewed by most people as nothing short of inspiring, as seen in various national publications.
