Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Lorcaserin and Prediabetes

The FDA has approved four anti-obesity drugs for long-term use in the past several years. The anti-obesity drugs are: contrave, a combination of bupropion and naltrexone; qsymia, a combination of phentermine and topiramate; saxenda, which contains the active ingredient liraglutide that is used to treat type 2 diabetes; and lorcaserin which has the brand name belviq. In this post, we are going to focus on lorcaserin that has been found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

In the study, done at the Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston, MA, researchers concluded that taking lorcaserin twice-a-day can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as one fifth. Lorcaserin controlled "high blood sugar in obese and overweight patients." Further, the use of lorcaserin, in conjunction with lifestyle interventions, "significantly reduced incidence of diabetes, increased rates of diabetes remission and reduced the risk of diabetic microvascular complications."

As stated above, lorcaserin is FDA approved for weight loss. And the aforementioned study shows that for obese individuals with abnormally high glucose levels, lorcaserin should be considered as a treatment option. And combining lorcaserin with physical activity and lifestyle changes might be especially effective.

Indeed, lorcaserin has been found to improve metabolic parameters. In one study, investigators found that lorcaserin can lower fasting glucose. And finally, in another study, researchers have determined that lorcaserin "improved multiple cardio metabolic parameters through both weight loss dependent and independent mechanisms.”

Therefore, as implied above, lorcaserin should be considered by practitioners when they are treating a patient who is overweight or obese and who experiences overweight or obesity related metabolic diseases. This may be particularly true for overweight or obese patients with prediabetes.

In the future, using lorcaserin for the treatment of those prediabetic patients who are overweight or obese may gain wide acceptance. Lorcaserin's effectiveness in weight loss and improved metabolic parameters may benefit many patients.

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