DIET PILLS

Muresan Lorena Pharmacy, II

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1-What is a diet pill

2-History
3-Contemporary anti-obesity drugs 4-Examples of pills 5-Do I Need a Prescription Weight Loss Drug? 6-Types of Prescription Weight Loss Drugs 7-Side

effects 8-Biography

DIET PILLS
Anti-obesity medication or weight loss drugs

are all pharmacological agents that reduce or control weight

These drugs alter one of the fundamental

processes of the human body, weight regulation, by either altering appetite, or absorption of calories.

History
The first described attempts at producing weight loss are those of Soranus of Ephesus, a Greek physician, in the second century AD. He prescribed elixirs of laxatives and purgatives, as well as heat, massage, and

Contemporary anti-obesity drugs

Some patients find that diet and

exercise is not a viable option; for these patients, anti-obesity drugs can be a last resort. Some prescription weight loss drugs are stimulants, which are recommended only for short-term use, and thus are of limited usefulness for extremely obese patients, who may need to reduce weight over months or years

EXAMPLES
Only one anti-obesity

medications orlistat (Xenical) is currently approved by the FDA for long term use.
Lorcaserin Sibutramine Rimonabant Metformin

Do I Need a Prescription Weight Loss Drug?

Obesity often requires long-term

treatment to promote and sustain weight loss. As in other chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, use of prescription drugs may be appropriate for some people. While most side effects of prescription weight loss drugs are mild, serious complications have been reported. More on that below.

Types of Prescription Weight Loss Drugs

Currently, most available weight loss drugs

approved by the FDA are for short-term use, meaning a few weeks or months. One type of weight-loss medication is "appetite suppressants." These drugs generally come in the form of tablets or extended-release capsules (pills that release medication over a long period of time). Appetite suppressants can be obtained by a doctor's prescription or purchased over the counter. One common prescription appetite suppressant is phentermine

Side effects
Some anti-obesity drugs have severe or life-

threatening side effects, fen-phen being a famous example. These side effects are often associated with their mechanism of action. In general, stimulants carry a risk of high blood pressure, faster heart rate, palpitations, closed-angle glaucoma, drug addiction, restlessness, agitation, and insomnia. Another drug, orlistat, blocks absorption of dietary fats, and as a result may cause oily spotting bowel movements (steatorrhea), oily stools, stomach pain, and flatulence. A similar medication, designed for patients with Type 2 diabetes, is Acarbose which partially blocks absorption of carbohydrates in the small intestine, and produces similar side effects including stomach pain, and flatulence.

Biography

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Clinical guideline 43: Obesity: The prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children. London, 2006. Obesity". National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.

WIN Publication Prescription Medications for the Treatment of

Cooke D, Bloom S (2006). "The obesity pipeline: current strategies in

the development of anti-obesity drugs". Nature reviews. Drug discovery 5 (11): 91931.
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformation

forPatientsandProviders/ucm213038.htm
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/nmsmithpages/Personal/Diabetes%20Care

%20Reference%20Materials/Diabetes%20Medications%20Metformin.pdf