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Pharmacotherapy of Obesity pp 59–68Cite as

Sibutramine

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Part of the book series: Milestones in Drug Therapy ((MDT))

Abstract

Concerns over the development of conditions such as primary pulmonary hypertension and valvular heart disease in patients taking serotonin releasing agents such as dexfenfluramine and fenfluramine led to searches for the agents that worked via serotonin but did not produce the same cardiovascular side effects. Sibutramine is a serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, pharmacologically distinct from these other drugs which are considered serotonin releasing agents, which was originally developed as an antidepressant [1]. Early clinical studies showed sibutramine to be largely devoid of antidepressant properties, but resulted in weight loss [2]. This therefore led to the development of sibutramine as an anti-obesity agent. Sibutramine has now been shown to be effective at producing weight loss in simple obesity and obesity associated with a range of co-morbidities including hypertension, dyslipidaemia and type 2 diabetes, and this chapter will describe its preclinical and clinical pharmacology, efficacy in clinical trials and describe the progress of long-term outcome trials with sibutramine, such as the Sibutramine Cardiovascular OUtcomes Trial (SCOUT study).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Sciences Centre, University Hospital Aintree, Longmoor Lane, Liverpool, L9 7AL, UK

    John P. H. Wilding

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  1. Clinical Sciences Centre, University Hospital Aintree, Longmoor Lane, Liverpool, L9 7AL, UK

    John P. H. Wilding

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© 2008 Birkhäuser Verlag/Switzerland

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Wilding, J.P.H. (2008). Sibutramine. In: Wilding, J.P.H. (eds) Pharmacotherapy of Obesity. Milestones in Drug Therapy. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-7425-9_5

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