Revisiting the Most Successful United States Food and Drug Administration-approved Anti-obesity Drug Sibutramine sulfate: A Comprehensive Pharmacotherapeutic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NA) reuptake inhibitor sibutramine work together. Sibutramine primarily affects food intake and energy expenditure by way of its two pharmacologically active metabolites, primary and secondary amines, which cause significant weight loss. In addition to stimulating thermogenesis and enhancing the physiological process of satiety, it can also increase the efferent sympathetic activity to brown fat that is thermochemically active. Aim: Revisiting the Most Successful United States Food and Drug Administration-approved Anti-obesity Drug Sibutramine sulfate. Methodology: For a duration of 10 years, literature is covered. Results: Clinical studies using sibutramine show a dose-related decrease in body weight, with weight loss up to 11% below the baseline that can last up to 18 months with ongoing therapy. Patients assigned to the sibutramine medication continued to lose weight throughout a 1-year period, reaching 15% below baseline, while the patients receiving the placebo treatment had some weight increase when weight loss is induced with a very low-calorie diet (VLCDL). By lowering the biochemical risk factors for obesity, such as plasma triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, glucose, and insulin, and raising HDL cholesterol, sibutramine enhances metabolic fitness. Conclusion: Sibutramine has been shown to be a beneficial treatment for obese people with moderately high blood pressure, and it has even been shown to reduce blood pressure on average as a result of weight reduction. The potential for misuse that is associated with amphetamine is not present with sibutramine, and in investigations evaluating abuse potential, it is identical to placebo.