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to advanced states of clinical development but either never made it to the market or were initially approved only to be withdrawn some years later because of safety issues.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.
Keywords: Obesity, antiobesity drugs, weight loss, body mass index.
Current Pharmaceutical Design
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to advanced states of clinical development but either never made it to the market or were initially approved only to be withdrawn some years later because of safety issues.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.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Gouni-Berthold Ioanna, Bruning C. Jens and Berthold K. Heiner, Novel Approaches to the Pharmacotherapy of Obesity, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2013; 19 (27) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/13816128113199990302
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/13816128113199990302 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
"Tuberculosis Prevention, Diagnosis and Drug Discovery"
The Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and streptomycin have enabled an appropriate diagnosis and an effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Since then, many newer diagnosis methods and drugs have been saving millions of lives. Despite advances in the past, TB is still a leading cause of infectious disease mortality ...read more
Current Pharmaceutical challenges in the treatment and diagnosis of neurological dysfunctions
Neurological dysfunctions (MND, ALS, MS, PD, AD, HD, ALS, Autism, OCD etc..) present significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, often necessitating innovative approaches and therapeutic interventions. This thematic issue aims to explore the current pharmaceutical landscape surrounding neurological disorders, shedding light on the challenges faced by researchers, clinicians, and ...read more
Emerging and re-emerging diseases
Faced with a possible endemic situation of COVID-19, the world has experienced two important phenomena, the emergence of new infectious diseases and/or the resurgence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of such diseases has also undergone changes. This context, in turn, may have a strong relationship with ...read more
Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Treatment: Standard of Care and Recent Advances
In this thematic issue, we aim to provide a standard of care of the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The editor will invite authors from different countries who will write review articles of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The Diagnosis, Staging, Surgical Treatment, Non-Surgical Treatment all ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
The Accuracy of Self-Reported Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Current Hypertension Reviews GPER and ER: Estrogen Receptors with Distinct Biological Roles in Breast Cancer
Immunology, Endocrine & Metabolic Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Discontinued) The Frequency of Thrombotic Events Among Adults Given Antifibrinolytic Drugs for Spontaneous Bleeding: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies and Randomized Trials
Current Drug Safety MCP-1/CCL2 as a Therapeutic Target in Myocardial Infarction and Ischemic Cardiomyopathy
Inflammation & Allergy - Drug Targets (Discontinued) Quality Assessment of Wheat Bread with Microbial Transglutaminase Supplemented with Hull-Less Barley Flour
Current Nutrition & Food Science Platelets and Atherothrombosis: Causes, Targets and Treatments for Thrombosis
Current Medicinal Chemistry Quantification of Low-Density and High-Density Lipoproteins in Human Serum by Material Enhanced Infrared Spectroscopy (MEIRS)
Current Medicinal Chemistry Critical Roles of Insulin-Induced Senescence in Diabetic Vasculopathy
Vascular Disease Prevention (Discontinued) Potential Options to Treat Hypertriglyceridaemia
Current Drug Targets Chronic Hypoxia Potentiates Age-Related Oxidative Imbalance in Brain Vessels and Synaptosomes
Current Neurovascular Research Evaluation of Intermediate Endpoints: Clinical Implications in the Management of Arterial Hypertension
Current Hypertension Reviews Current Applications of Artificial Neural Networks in Biochemistry with Emphasis on Cancer Research
Current Biochemical Engineering (Discontinued) Cigarette Smoking and Angiogenesis: What is the Role of Endothelial Progenitor Cells?
Current Angiogenesis (Discontinued) HDL Genetic Defects
Current Pharmaceutical Design The Molecular Basis of the Interplay between Endothelin-1 and Nitric Oxide and its Relevance for Atherosclerosis and Arterial and Pulmonary Hypertension
Vascular Disease Prevention (Discontinued) Prognostic Impact of Red Cell Distribution Width on the Development of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy, Major Adverse Cardiac Events, and Mortality in Coronary Artery Disease Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Current Cardiology Reviews Treatment of Leukoaraiosis: A Futuristic View
Current Drug Targets The Etiology of Hypertension in the Metabolic Syndrome Part Two: The Gene-Environment Interaction
Current Vascular Pharmacology Inflammatory Mechanisms of Injury and Recovery after Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Current Immunology Reviews (Discontinued) Structural and Functional Diversity of Estrogen Receptor Ligands
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry