Drug promotes weight loss in elderly
Drug promotes weight loss in elderly
Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, too
A pooled analysis in a subpopulation of elderly obese patients indicates that the drug Xenical, manufactured by Hoffmann-LaRoche in Nutley, NJ, is effective for weight loss in this population. Use of Xenical also results in improvements in many of the health risks associated with obesity, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity held recently in Charleston, SC.
Patients in this analysis were aged 65 years or older and had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. Patients were treated with a reduced-calorie diet plus 120 mg of Xenical or placebo in two separate double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. The results indicate that patients treated with Xenical experienced significantly greater weight loss than patients receiving placebo. In addition, cardiovascular disease risk factors also improved more significantly among patients treated with Xenical.
The Xenical clinical trial program is the longest and largest of any anti-obesity medication. In seven separate, one- and two-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and randomized clinical trials involving more than 7,000 patients worldwide, those who took Xenical with reduced calorie meals containing 30% fat achieved significant weight loss, with improvements in other health risk, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Data from the analysis of the elderly obese presented at the NAASO meeting as well as pooled data from other clinical trials show:
• Almost three times as many patients taking Xenical in addition to a reduced calorie diet vs. reduced calorie diet alone achieved weight loss of more than 10% body weight.
• Nearly twice as many patients taking Xenical lost at least 5% body weight as those not taking Xenical.
• Patients losing weight with Xenical had statistically significant reductions in total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as improved concentrations of fasting glucose and insulin.
For more information, call toll-free (800) 746-5456 or visit the drug Web site at www.xenical. com.
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.