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Rimonabant

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Abstract

  • ▴ Rimonabant is the first of a new class of selective cannabinoid receptor-1 blockers. It reduces the overactivity of the endocannabinoid system, improving lipid and glucose metabolism and regulating food intake and energy balance.

  • ▴ In four randomised, double-blind clinical trials in overweight or obese adults with or without type 2 diabetes and/or dyslipidaemia, oral rimonabant 20mg once daily reduced weight and waist circumference to a significantly greater extent than placebo.

  • ▴ A significantly greater proportion of rimonabant than placebo recipients achieved the clinically significant weight-loss target of ≥5% or ≥10% of initial weight.

  • ▴ Rimonabant was associated with significant improvements in glycaemic control relative to placebo, with ≈57% of the reduction in glycosylated haemoglobin being independent of the effects of weight loss in one trial.

  • ▴ Improvements in other cardiometabolic risk factors (i.e. increases in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [HDL-C] and decreases in triglyceride [TG] levels) were significantly greater with rimonabant than with placebo.

  • ▴ The improvement in lipid profile also demonstrated a weight-independent effect, with ≈47–58% of the mprovement in HDL-C and TG being beyond that expected through weight loss alone.

  • ▴ Rimonabant was generally well tolerated, with most adverse events considered mild to moderate in severity.

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Notes

  1. The use of trade names is for product identification purposes only and does not imply endorsement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wolters Kluwer Health / Adis, 41 Centorian Drive, Private Bag 65901, Mairangi Bay, Auckland, 1311, New Zealand

    Sheridan Henness, Dean M. Robinson & Katherine A. Lyseng-Williamson

  2. Wolters Kluwer Health, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA

    Sheridan Henness, Dean M. Robinson & Katherine A. Lyseng-Williamson

Authors
  1. Sheridan Henness
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  2. Dean M. Robinson
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  3. Katherine A. Lyseng-Williamson
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Correspondence to Sheridan Henness.

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Henness, S., Robinson, D.M. & Lyseng-Williamson, K.A. Rimonabant. Drugs 66, 2109–2119 (2006). https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-200666160-00006

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