Title:Novel Approaches to the Pharmacotherapy of Obesity
Volume: 19
Issue: 27
Author(s): Ioanna Gouni-Berthold, Jens C. Bruning and Heiner K. Berthold
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Obesity, antiobesity drugs, weight loss, body mass index.
Abstract: Although the obesity epidemic is constantly expanding at very high costs for health care systems, the currently available options
for the pharmacotherapy of obesity are very limited. This is not due to lack of interest or research on the subject but rather to the
poor efficacy and/or safety profile of the majority of the antiobesity drugs developed up to now. Since the late fifties, various medications
were brought to advanced states of clinical development but either never made it to the market or were initially approved only to be withdrawn
some years later because of safety issues. However, our understanding of the pathophysiology of obesity has been steadily increasing
and new, promising drugs targeting various selected obesity-associated and energy-homeostasis-related pathways are now under development.
Nonetheless, obesity remains a disease mainly caused by an excess of caloric intake in relation to energy expenditure and on
that basis, its treatment should be a healthy diet and physical activity. When these options alone are not sufficient, then additional pharmacotherapy
with an acceptable efficacy and safety profile could provide a useful option.
