Drug treatments for obesity

Serotonin & Noradrenaline Related Drugs
By Bruce McLintock

Sibutramine is a drug, originally used in the treatment of depression, which is now used to help obese and overweight patients lose weight, and along with Orlistat, is the only drug licensed for use in the UK. It acts within the hypothalamus by preventing reuptake of both noradrenaline and serotonin. This inhibition causes the patient increased feelings of satiety, a decreased appetite, and a corresponding reduced intake of food which results in weight loss. Certain studies have shown that sibutramine may increase thermogenesis and as such, contribute to weight loss, but there have also been other studies in which no such effects were shown, and it seems fair to say that this action seems to only contribute in, at most, a minor way to weight loss.