Source: The New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 363:245-256, No. 3, 7/15/2010, NEJM AbstractThe new weight loss drug, Lorcaserin, a selective serotonin 2C receptor agonist, is effective in reducing body weight according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The study followed 3,182 obese or overweight adults (average BMI of 36.2) to receive lorcaserin at a dose of 10 mg, or placebo, twice daily for 52 weeks. All patients also underwent diet and exercise counseling. At week 52, patients in the placebo group continued to receive placebo but patients in the lorcaserin group were randomly reassigned to receive either placebo or lorcaserin. Primary outcomes were weight loss at 1 year and maintenance of weight loss at 2 years. Serial echocardiography was used to identify patients in whom valvulopathy (as defined by the Food and Drug Administration) developed.
Study findings• At 1 year, 47.5% of patients in the lorcaserin group and 20.3% in the placebo group had lost 5% or more of their body weight, corresponding to an average loss of 5.8±0.2 kg (~13 lbs) with lorcaserin and 2.2±0.1 kg (~5 lbs) with placebo during year 1.• Among the patients who received lorcaserin during year 1 and who had lost 5% or more of their baseline weight at 1 year, the loss was maintained in more patients who continued to receive lorcaserin during year 2 (67.9%) than in patients who received placebo during year 2 (50.3%).• Among 2,472 patients evaluated at 1 year and 1,127 evaluated at 2 years, the rate of cardiac valvulopathy was not increased with the use of lorcaserin.• Among the most frequent adverse events reported with lorcaserin were headache, dizziness, and nausea. The rates of serious adverse events in the two groups were similar.
