Obesity Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Obesity, including details on health, diet, prevention, exercise.

Emerging aspects of pharmacotherapy for obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Nisoli E, Carruba MO

Department of Preclinical Sciences, Center for Study and Research on Obesity, L. Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, LITA Vialba, via G.B. Grassi 74, 20157 Milan, Italy. enzo.nisoli@unimi.it

Obesity is a multifactorial, chronic disorder that has reached epidemic proportions in most industrialized countries and is threatening to become a global epidemic. Obese patients are at higher risk from coronary artery disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, cancers, cerebrovascular accidents, osteoarthritis, restrictive pulmonary disease, and sleep apnoea. In particular, visceral fat accumulation is usually accompanied by insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, high uremic acid levels, low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol to define a variously named syndrome or metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is now considered a major cardiovascular risk factor in a large percentage of population in worldwide. Both obesity and metabolic syndrome are particularly challenging clinical conditions to treat because of their complex pathophysiological basis. Indeed, body weight represents the integration of many biological and environmental components and relationships among fat and glucose tolerance or blood pressure are not completely understood. Efforts to develop innovative anti-obesity drugs, with benefits for metabolic syndrome, have been recently intensified. In general two distinct strategies can be adopted: first, to reduce energy intake; second, to increase energy expenditure. Here we review some among the most promising avenues in these two fields of drug therapy of obesity and, consequently, of metabolic syndrome.

Published 1 October 2004 in Pharmacol Res, 50(5): 453-69.
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