Weight Loss Information

Taking diet drug Acomplia (rimonabant) approximately doubles your risk of depression, and the risk may be even higher if you have a past history of depression, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

"This doubling of the risk of depression occurs in all types of patients," the EMEA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) said in the most definitive statement to date quantifying the link between Acomplia and depressive side effects.

"This increased risk is of concern, since Acomplia is now being used in patients with a history of psychiatric events," said the CHMP. "In a small minority of cases, this could lead to suicidal ideation or even suicide attempts."

The CHMP reached the conclusions about the link between Acomplia and depression after analyzing a year's worth of data it requested from Sanofi on "the psychiatric safety of Acomplia, focusing on cases of depression in patients taking the medicine."

Sanofi provided data on the more than 100,000 patients who have taken Acomplia in Europe since it was approved for sale in the European Union.

In assessing the data, the CHMP said it concluded "that the benefits of Acomplia continue to outweigh its risks, except in patients with ongoing major depression or taking antidepressants."

But it expressed concern that "too many patients are taking Acomplia at the same time as antidepressants, even though Acomplia is not recommended for use in patients also taking antidepressants."

"Acomplia must no longer be used in these patients," the CHMP said in approving stiffer warnings to doctors not to prescribe Acomplia for depressed patients.

Meantime, regulators in the U.K. -- where more patients have taken Acomplia in the past year than any other country -- said evidence suggests one person in 10 experiences psychiatric side effects and about one person in 100 experiences suicidal thoughts while on the diet drug.

This is how to lose inches off your waist - get your mind right to make the changes, get your nutrition in order and workout, hard.

There are the three things you need to sort out now - and what you need to realize is, losing inches off your waist will take time.

Below are 6 tips on how to lose inches off your waist fast -

1. Think small - opting for little changes in your diet can make a difference to your fat loss efforts. Look at eating turkey burgers instead of beef, diet soda instead of regular, whole grain pasta instead of white. With small changes, it becomes second nature which will have an impact on your eating habits.
2. Eat smart - never eat straight from a box or container. If you are eating take away food, put the right portion on a plate. And put the package away, then sit down and enjoy your meal, taking your time over it. Eat slowly and savor every bite. Also, plan to have 6 healthy mini meals a day to control the cravings!
3. It is healthy for everyone to follow a high fiber diet, aiming for two to three cups of vegetables per day and two pieces of fruit (preferably with the skin on). Switching to a diet high in fiber doesn't mean you have to add more carbohydrates to your daily menu, it simply means you need to eat high fiber carbs (those with more than 3g of fiber per serve). Choose from broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, tomato, mung beans, leeks, green beans, capsicum, onions and others.
4. Eat more fresh, wholesome foods and drink more water through out the day. And if you reduce the amount of processed foods and sugary drinks like Coca Cola and Diet Pepsi - you are well on your way to losing inches off your waist. If you're not too sure the kinds of food you should feed your body with, visit The Truth About Six Pack Abs Program for the kinds of food you should be eating and avoiding to lose inches off your waist.
5. Make it a gradual effort. Changes to your lifestyle does not have to be immediate. If you can commit yourself to make positive changes daily, like drinking one less can of coke and eating one serve of fruit - it's all for the better for your health and waistline.
6. The Best Exercise Program for you ... is one you will stick to, and one that is challenging. Find a routine that works for you, and make it a habit.
7. Workout because you want to and make it fun. Go with a friend, or join a place where the environment is welcoming. Don't think of exercise as a duty but as a choice. It's time to devote to your body and health because you well-being is important to you.

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Sanofi-Aventis said on April 3rd it still has high hopes for diet drug rimonabant (Acomplia / Zimulti), even though it was rejected by a U.S. FDA advisory panel last year and recent clinical trial news has been less than wildly encouraging.

Marc Cluzel, Sanofi's head of research, said in a round of interviews in London that he continues to believe Acomplia can be a winner.

Acomplia, which was to have been marketed in the United States as Zimulti, was withdrawn from FDA consideration last June after an expert panel unanimously recommended against approval out of concern over depressive and suicidal side-effects.

Data from a new clinical trial of possible use of Acomplia in slowing progression of coronary artery disease was reported this week along with news that 43.4 percent of patients who got rimonabant in this trial suffered psychiatric side effects such as anxiety and depression.

While the results of the heart trial were ambiguous at best, Cluzel put a positive face on it -- and reiterated that Sanofi intends to resubmit rimonabant to the FDA and regulators worldwide in 2009 for approval as a treatment for type 2 diabetes.

He noted that the Acomplia development program -- involving clinical trials for a variety of conditions in addition to obesity -- is only one-third completed.

"It's very difficult before 2011 to know exactly what will be the full benefits of the product," Cluzel told the news agency Reuters.

Another Sanofi executive, Belen Garijo, also expressed confidence that sales of Acomplia -- which have been disappointing to date -- will grow in Europe and other countries where it is on the market. http://www.acomplia.p5.org.uk

Cat (CT) scans of obese patients treated with Acomplia (rimonabant) have confirmed for the first time that the diet drug significantly reduces the dangerous type of abdominal obesity that often leads to type 2 diabetes, according to researchers.

In a late-breaking report presented at the annual meeting of the European Atherosclerosis Society in Istanbul, the researchers said cat scans showed that rimonabant treatment for a year resulted in significantly greater reductions in visceral fat than a placebo and also helped reduce the fatty liver index.

The results came from the ADAGIO-LIPIDS clinical trial, a study conducted in 799 patients with abdominal obesity and with the high triglyceride - low HDL-cholesterol dyslipidemia. Dyslipidemia is a condition that contributes to the development of atherosclerosis (commonly called hardening of the arteries).

The purpose of the study, according to lead researcher Dr Jean-Pierre Després of Université Laval in Quebec City, was to determine the effect of rimonabant on HDL (good) cholesterol and triglyceride levels and on the cardiometabolic profile of overweight/obese patients with dyslipidemia.

Patients treated for a year with rimonabant, Després reported, saw their HDL cholesterol increased by an average 9.7% while triglycerides were lowered 15.5%. Blood pressure was reduced 3.3 mm Hg, and inflammation levels measured by C-reactive protein (CRP) were also reduced.

But for the first time in a rimonabant trial, patients were also given cat scans to measure how much subcutaneous and visceral fat was lost on rimonabant as well as to determine whether rimonabant could reduce liver fat.

"Although we had evidence from the phase III studies conducted with rimonabant that (the drug) could induce a reduction in waist circumference (a crude marker of abdominal fat) and improve several features of the metabolic syndrome, no study had ever quantified the effect of this drug on visceral adiposity and liver fat," Després said.

The researchers reported that rimonabant therapy for a year reduced visceral adipose tissue by an average 10.1%, which was greater than the 5.1 percent loss of subcutaneous fat, and produced a "significant: decrease in the fatty liver index.

"Results of ADAGIO-LIPIDS provide support to the notion that patients with visceral obesity who are often either dyslipidemic or with type 2 diabetes (or both) represent a relevant subpopulation of overweight/obese patients who would particularly benefit from rimonabant therapy," the researchers concluded. www.acomplia.p5.org.uk 

Resources: Acompliareport.com