The Food and Drug Administration has approved weight-management drug Contrave, which has a formula based on the combination of two other FDA-approved meds, naltrexone and bupropion, that are used to treat addiction and depression.
The move comes from a growing concern in the obesity epidemic in the United States, as a baffling 35% of American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Contrave is a combination of two Arena Pharmaceuticals and Vivus Inc. drugs that were approved by the FDA in 2012, ABC News reports, after having spent 13 years without approving any weight-loss medication. The two drugs that compose it are used to treat anxiety and depression: naltrexone is often used to treat dependences to alcohol and narcotics, while bupropion's anti-depressant qualities are often used to help people quit smoking.
In short, the diet pills would inhibit the anxiety shown by obesity patients to keep them from eating excessively.
However, FDA's approval came with very specific terms of use. The drug can only be prescribed on adults with a body mass index of 30 or greater, or with a BMI of 27 or higher, and the patient must also be suffering from an obesity-related condition such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Also, the drug can only be prescribed to patients who have previously attempted a change of lifestyle and got no results from it.
Not unlike other diet pills, Contrave can cause a wide set of risks and dangerous side effects. For example, because of the anti-depressant components, there are risks of suicidal thoughts and other side effects often associated with that sort of medications. Also, Contrave can cause seizures and cannot be prescribed to patients who already have a history of seizures; and it is also problematic to people with uncontrolled high blood pressure.
