NEW YORK (AP) -- French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Synthelabo hopes scientific knowledge gained from marijuana will help the masses curb the "munchies."
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Aug. 15, 2002
By Mary Pickett, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
How does this article relate to me?
Obesity may be our greatest national health crisis. Every new study that brings us closer to fully understanding the causes of obesity is of great interest to doctors and patients alike. However, based on our experiences so far, drug development for obesity needs to be viewed with caution and skepticism.
Several natural hormones that relate to obesity have been in the limelight recently:
- Cannabinoids— These natural body hormones that are chemical relatives of cannabis (marijuana) may stimulate appetite. The latest experimental obesity drug (the subject of this news article) was designed to block the effect of these hormones.
- Ghrelin— This is a natural body hormone that is made by the stomach and small intestine. Your body makes large amounts of ghrelin when you are hungry. People who have had gastric bypass surgery to treat obesity stop making such high levels of ghrelin. Researchers suspect that this might be part of the reason that the surgery promotes weight loss.
- Leptin— Discovered and discussed as a major news story in 1994, a burst of this hormone is made by fat cells after each meal. The hormone travels to the brain and "turns off" your appetite by acting on the brain's hypothalamus, where it attaches to proteins called "receptors." Some obese people have an abnormal gene that prevents the hypothalamus from making leptin receptors. Although experimental treatment with leptin injections has been tried in humans, this treatment has not been very successful for promoting weight loss.
What changes do I need to make?
Currently there are several drugs that can promote weight loss that are not considered experimental. However, each of the currently available drugs has limitations in its usefulness. The available medicines have worrisome side effects in some cases, and bothersome side effects in many cases. Many health insurance plans will not pay for weight loss medicines. The limited amount of weight loss that is credited to the medicines does not usually last unless the pills are continued indefinitely.
Because of the limitations that we face in obesity drug treatment, doctors will always recommend exercise and a reduced calorie diet as the mainstays of obesity treatment. If you are interested in using a weight loss medicine in addition to exercise and diet, have a detailed discussion with your doctor about what you can and cannot expect from weight loss medicine. Weight loss medicines that are available over-the-counter are not recommended — many of them are unsafe and many of them are ineffective.
What can I expect in the future?
I am doubtful that the latest drug being studied, Rimonabant, will be a miracle cure for diabetes. Marijuana abuse does not appear to be a major risk factor for obesity, so cannabis hormones are probably only a small part of a large story.
Related Areas:
Prescription Medications For Obesity
