Originally published January 18 2005
Acomplia hype spreads, granting the drug a "miracle cure" status
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A so-called miracle drug promises to help people quit smoking, lose weight, and cut their alcohol consumption. It’s called Acomplia, and it is even being heralded as a possible treatment for schizophrenia and drug addiction. The pill is being developed by the newly merged French company Sanofi Aventis. However, critics note that the drug’s effects seem to end after a year.
This new healthy lifestyle could be as easy as just popping a pill, if the hype surrounding the new "wonder drug" Acomplia is to be believed.
The drug has been shown to help people quit smoking - without the usual expanding waistline - and induce weight loss.
Trials to see if the drug cuts patients' alcohol intake are under way and some experts have suggested it could be a potential treatment for schizophrenia and serious drug addiction.
Obesity drastically raises the risk of other ailments such as diabetes and heart disease.
It will not be easy to become a sylph-like picture of health, even when using the drug.
The average weight loss is about 7kg (15.4 lbs) - with the average weight being 102kg - in the first year of taking the drug, compared with a 2kg loss in those taking placeboes.
The proportions of patient numbers are small but those taking it in trials showed more depression, anxiety, nausea and irritability than those on a placebo, although these effects seemed to fade in the second year.
However, doctors might prefer this to the side-effects of other obesity drugs on the market.
Because Acomplia affects the brain, it is the side-effects that are difficult to measure that worry some experts.
The drug acts on a relatively recently discovered system in the body, the cannabinoid system, so called because cannabis produces its effects there.
Acomplia does the opposite of cannabis: it turns off the receptors while cannabis excites them, though its mechanism is not fully understood.
The doses in these animal experiments may not be equivalent to the doses in the recent human trials, so the effects might not be the same.
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