Obesity pill may treat diabetes

A new obesity pill that helps control blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes could provide a novel way to treat the illness, a team of international researchers said on Friday.

They found that rimonabant, sold by Sanofi-Aventis under the trade name Acomplia, reduced risk factors for heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes who did not respond to standard treatments.

"These findings support the use of 20 milligrams (mg) per day of rimonabant, in addition to diet and exercise, as a new approach to reduce body weight and improve blood glucose control as well as other cardiovascular risk factors in overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes," said Professor Andre Scheen of the University of Liege in Belgium.

Diabetes affects about 194 million people worldwide. Most cases are type 2 diabetes, caused by an inability to regulate glucose (sugar) in the body properly, which are linked to being overweight or obese.

Reducing weight and controlling glucose levels is important because diabetics have an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney damage and nerve disorders, which can lead to foot ulceration and amputations.

"Type 2 diabetes is a difficult disease to treat because we have had no optimal drugs until now," Scheen told Reuters. "Available drugs can improve blood glucose control but unfortunately they promote weight gain, instead of weight loss."

In a study of 1,047 overweight and obese diabetes patients in 11 countries in Europe and North and South America, the researchers compared the impact of taking either 5 mg or 20 mg of the drug a day to a placebo for a year.

Compared with patients taking a placebo, those on rimonabant lost more weight and had greater decreases in waist circumference and abdominal fat. Improvements in appetite and blood glucose control were also greater in the treatment group.

Scheen said the findings, published online by The Lancet medical journal, confirm results from earlier studies of the drug in overweight or obese patients without diabetes.

The drug was generally well tolerated, although some patients developed nausea, vomiting and anxiety.

"This drug is able to target several cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors," said Scheen.