Sudhakar Jha
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Written By: Sudhakar Jha | Updated : August 27, 2018 11:24 AM IST
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Losing extra weight is a task that many people go through by different means. While some go the fitness way and exercise to lose weight, some pop a pill to do the same. However, pills have long been deemed unhealthy for their side-effects. But a new study has hailed the pills as the holy grail in the fight against obesity because it doesn t increase your risk of heart problems despite long term usage.
According to the researchers, lorcaserin is the first weight-loss drug that has been termed safe for heart health despite long-term use. The drug is taken twice a day which acts as an appetite suppressant by stimulating the brain chemicals to induce a feeling of fullness.
This study saw 12,000 obese or overweights who were given the pills or a placebo and shed an average of 4kg in 40 months. The analysis showed that there was no major differences in tests for heart valve damage.
The FDA had approved lorcaserin in 2012 and it has been on sale there since 2013 under the name Belviq, across the world. But has been deemed dangerous by many experts for mental health and heart health complications.
But the study that was led by Dr Erin Bohula, a cardiovascular medicine expert at the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women s Hospital has come out with a different result.
Patients and their doctors have been nervous about using drugs to treat obesity and for good reason. There s a history of these drugs having serious complications, Dr. Erin reportedly said.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the research found that after one year 39 per cent of individuals who were given lorcaserin lost at least 5 per cent of their starting weight, compared to 17 per cent of those who underwent a placebo treatment. The analysis also showed that just 8.5 per cent people taking lorcaserin developed diabetes, compared with 10.3 per cent who were on placebo. The tests for heart valve damage also showed no significant differences in rates.
The researchers reportedly said, Among overweight or obese patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or multiple cardiovascular risk factors who were being treated with dietary and exercise interventions, those who received lorcaserin had better long-term rates of weight loss than those who received placebo at a median follow-up of 3.3 years. The higher weight-loss rates were achieved without an accompanying increase in the risk of cardiovascular events.
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