Infertility

Currently, USFDA has recommended very few drugs for obesity like Orlistat (Xenical) and Sibutramine (Laptos/Obestat).

Obesity drugs also have serious drawbacks.

“The shortcomings in obesity drugs are that the weight loss is not significant and consistent.

The drugs are not effective for long-term use due to developing tolerance,” informs Dhorepatil.

Drugs like Phenteramine and Ephedrine have been recalled decreasing the freedom of choice.

“Some drugs had deleterious effects on heart valves and central nervous system and were withdrawn from the market.

Among the existing drugs, side-effects like diarrhoea, headache, nausea and rise in blood pressure are observed,” he adds.

Research under way Considering the limited options and the increasing prevalence of obesity, the quest is on for a magic pill, which can work wonders.

A few companies have embarked on drug discovery in this front and there are quite a few promising molecules under trial.

Several therapeutic categories of drugs including anorectic agents, lipase inhibitors, and ß3 [beta 3] receptor agonists have been evaluated for their utility in the treatment of obesity.

Lipase inhibitors work by preventing the absorption of fats.

“However, these treatment options have not p...

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