When you look at the reported clinical trials it doesn’t speak too loud as far as being effective. People had moderate loss but the placebo did pretty good too so it is kind of hard to tell. The FDA says to stop the drug if there’s no results in 12 weeks. 
This is the third drug approved for weight loss in 2 years.
Contrave, the drug provides a treatment option for chronic weight management but again I think the key is lifestyle that has to go along with the therapy. So far the other two drugs approved have not set the world on fire with selling very well either. BD
For the third time in two years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to help people lose weight. The new drug, Contrave, combines two generic drugs, naltrexone and bupropion.
Naltrexone is used to help kick an addiction to alcohol or narcotics. Bupropion is used to treat depression and seasonal affective disorder. Many people also take bupropion to stop smoking. Neither naltrexone nor bupropion by itself has been approved for weight loss.
“When used as directed in combination with a healthy lifestyle that includes a reduced-calorie diet and exercise, Contrave provides another treatment option for chronic weight management,” said Dr. Jean-Marc Guettier, director of the division of metabolism and endocrinology products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a news release.
In one trial of people without diabetes, 42 percent of those who took Contrave lost at least 5 percent of their body weight, compared with 17 percent of those who took a placebo. In a trial of people with diabetes, 36 percent of those taking Contrave lost at least 5 percent of their body weight, compared with 18 percent of those taking a placebo.
Across the studies, some people lost much more than 5 percent of their body weight. But it’s important to note that more than 50 percent had minimal or no weight loss.
Why should the combination of a drug for addiction and one for depression help with weight loss? It’s likely that the drugs act on impulse, reward, and/or hunger centers in the brain to decrease appetite and dampen the reflex to seek food for comfort.
http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/nutrition/fda-approves-weight-loss-drug-contrave-20141101
0 comments :
Post a Comment