New Weight Loss Pill Combines Addiction Drugs

August 3rd, 2010 | Add a Comment

A new weight loss pill has been produced using a combination of drugs that help decrease drinking and terminate smoking. This new pill, known as Contrave, is a mixture of naltrexone and bupropion. Alcoholics use naltrexone to decrease cravings from alcohol. Bupropion is used to treat depression and cigarette addiction. There has never been a weight loss pill approved in any country with the combination of these two drugs.

Bupropion stimulates neurons that effects appetite. It has been found to encourage weight loss when used by itself. According to Dr. Frank Greenway, researcher at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, adding naltrexone to bupropion causes even more weight loss.

Contrave affects the appetite and reward centers in the brain. This could be useful for people who have food cravings that interfere with their ability to maintain a diet. For the greatest success in weight loss, obese people would consume this pill in addition to dieting and exercising. This pill is not however, for people looking to lose a few pounds before swim season. Contrave is recommended for people with a body mass index of 30 or above. People with a body mass index of 27 or above and have type II diabetes may also benefit from the pill.

The most common side effect of Contrave was found to be nausea. According to Greenway, the nausea will typically go away if people continue to take the drug. He also notes that people with epilepsy should not take any drug involving bupropion because it interferes with the disease.

The pharmaceutical company, Orexigan Therapeutics Inc is currently working on the drug. Contrave has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and could get approval in January 2011.