Rimonabant Acomplia

Rimonabant Acomplia – the Weight Loss Wonder Drug

Rimonabant – brand name Acomplia is the newest weight loss drug introduced by Sanofi-Aventis. It is presently approved for prescription sale on in the UK and Europe. Rimonabant, the active ingredient in Acomplia has gained extreme popularity since its launch and is widely proclaimed as the best weight loss drug available today. It is prescribed to patients who have a BMI of 30 or greater or those who have a BMI of 27 or greater with other obesity related health problems like type-2 diabetes, increased cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.

Obesity is a major health issue in the UK and Europe and health care authorities are pushing strongly towards getting people to loose weight. Diet and exercise programmes are being implemented. However not everyone gets benefited from such programmes and many obese people need additional help to loose weight. This is where a weight loss medication comes in handy. A weight loss drug can supplement diet and exercise programmes to bring about significant reduction in weight. Rimonabant (Acomplia) is a wonder drug among other weight loss drugs.

Sanofi-Aventis has used a radically new approach to appetite suppression in the making of Rimonabant Acomplia. Where most other drugs act on neurotransmitters to give a feeling of fullness, Rimonabant acts on the Endocannabinoid system of the brain and restricts the action of cannabinoid receptors to bring down food cravings. This effectively keeps obese people off food and thereby helps reduce their weight quickly.

In addition to helping with weight loss Rimonabant – better known as Acomplia in the UK and Europe – also brings many other health benefits for patients. These include reduction in the waistline of obese people, reducing fat cells and increasing good cholesterol levels and controlling blood sugar. As per the claims of the manufacturer, Acomplia, through its active ingredient Rimonabant increases good cholesterol – HDL – levels by nearly 27%, which is the highest for any drug. The company also claims Rimonabant helps in controlling blood sugar. However Acomplia also has certain side effects including anxiety and nausea among others.

Rimonabant is pending approval from FDA for sale in the US. It is approved for sale as Acomplia in the UK and US while it will be sold under the brand name Zimulti in the US. Acomplia (Rimonabant) is one of the highest selling weight loss drugs in the UK and European Union countries and the company is expecting similar results in the US markets also.

Let us take a look at how Rimonabant or Acomplia actually works. As stated above, Rimonabant is a CB1 receptor antagonist. CB1 is one of the two receptors in the Endocannabinoid system, which plays a major role in regulating our food intake and energy expenditure.

CB1 receptors can be found on cell surfaces in the body including fat cells. These fat cells are responsible for lipid and glucose metabolism while the cells in the brain are involved in appetite determination. When cannabinoids are present, they act on the receptors to make people feel hungrier. Acomplia (Rimonabant) stops the action of the cannabinoids and thereby reduces the feeling of hunger.