Anti-addiction drugs treat obesity

Obese trial patients lost up to six per cent of their body weight over a year, when put under a programme that combined anti-addiction drugs with dieting and exercise, a study said.

US researchers, who recruited 1,742 people aged 18 to 65 for the 56 week trial, randomly chose patients and put them under a prescription of either a combination of the drugs naltrexone and bupropion or "dummy" placebo pills.

Naltrexone is commonly used for the treatment of alcoholics and heroin addicts, while bupropion, better known as Zyban, is an anti-smoking drug. Both medications are known to affect appetite and reduce food cravings.

Trial patients were also given lifestyle advice which included cutting down on calorie consumption and improving exercise levels.

The findings, which were reported in The Lancet medical journal online, showed that treated participants lost between five and six per cent of their bodyweight depending on which of two doses of naltrexone they were given. In comparison, patients in the placebo group lost 1.3 per cent.

The researchers said the improvements were "clinically meaningful" and may reduce the risk of death.

However, the treatment's success was tempered by a lack of significant reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol levels and only half of the patients sticking to the course through to the end.

Patients had an average weight of around 100 kilograms (15.7 stone) at the start of the study and their Body Mass Index averaged 36, classifying them as clinically obese.

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