Single Pill Reduces Smoking and Weight

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Single Pill Reduces Smoking and Weight

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/83/97788.htm

Double-Whammy Treats Major Risk Factors for Heart Disease

By Peggy PeckWebMD Medical News

Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MDon Tuesday, March 09, 2004

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March 9, 2004 (New Orleans) -- A single pill that could help smokers quit and maybe lose a little weight -- does that sound too good to be true? Hang on, the same pill could dramatically reduce your waist size --- which could reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The potential wonder drug is just completing phase III studies and could be available by late 2005, Jean-Pierre Despres, MD, tells WebMD. Despres, a heart researcher form Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, and Anthenelli, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati VA Medical Center in Ohio, presented results of the two latest studies of the drug -- called Accomplia -- at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session 2004.

Anthenelli says the drug has the potential to be the first "drug to treat the two major risk factors for heart disease: smoking and obesity." And so far there are no downsides to the Accomplia, which works by targeting receptors in the brain as well as receptors in individual fat cells.

Accomplia has already picked up a nickname: the munchies drug. That's because Accomplia acts like marijuana in reverse, cutting appetite and curbing the craving for nicotine. In tests, the drug has helped people with weight loss and smoking cessation.

How Accomplia Works

Accomplia is the first CB1 receptor blocker. In the brain, Anthenelli says, the drug resets the body's appetite control mechanism, which is sent into overdrive by either "overeating or tobacco." He says animal studies also suggest that this receptor may become hyperactive when exposed to excess alcohol or to drugs like cocaine, but so far the researchers are concentrating on tobacco and weight. In cells, the drug targets receptors that control how fat is burned and stored.

In the smoking cessation study, more than 700 smokers were randomly chosen to receive 5 mg or 20 mg of Accomplia or a dummy pill daily. The average age of smokers was 42, and most had smoked about a pack a day for 11 to 24 years, says Anthenelli. The study lasted 10 weeks, and the smokers were permitted to smoke during the first two weeks but were asked to abstain after that.

Smokers who were completely smoke-free during the last four weeks of the study -- a condition that was verified by blood and breath tests -- were considered successes.

Almost 36% of the Accomplia patients taking the 20 mg dose kicked the habit in 10 weeks, which was "about twice the quit rate seen in the placebo [group]," says Anthenelli. He says that rate is slightly better than current smoking cessation aids such as nicotine gum or patches.

But the real bonus was seen in participants taking 20 mg of Accomplia daily -- they were able to quit smoking without gaining weight.

Normal-weight smokers taking 20 mg of Accomplia gained no weight, while normal-weight smokers taking dummy pills gained about a pound and a half.

Overweight and obese smokers treated for one year with Accomplia lost more than 5% of their weight when compared with patients treated with either placebo or the 5 mg dose of the drug. "And they lost weight without changing diet or increasing exercise," says Anthenelli, who adds that about 68% of the smokers in the study were overweight.

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