Existing and prospective pathways for intervention in treatment of obesity in a novel way‒a review

Medical treatment of obesity is difficult as newer drugs get elucidated and may show promise but as they undergo phase trials some or other side effects appear Initially sibutramine was used for some years and then abandoned in view of CVS side effects Rimonabant an endocannabaninoid receptor antagonist showed great promise as far as its antiobesity properties were concerned but had to be abandoned in trial phase due to appearance of severe psychiatric side effects including suicidal effects Now although Qsymia is approved but its use is with caution due to the effects of fetal side effects like oral cleft lip palate and propensity for CVS side effects Similarly lorcarserin has now been categorized as schedule IV drug in view of it causing tumor development Tesofensine has started showing severe side effects in initial phases of phase trials The only drug approved is orlistat for long term obesity treatment Antidiuretic drugs like GLP R agonists like liraglutide are other drugs of promise Newer discoveries resulting from genetic studies of obesity and MS have identified novel molecules which act on hunger and satiety peptidergic signaling of the gut hypothalamic axis like ghrelin PYY NPY or the melanocortin system of the brain and are promising targets for future drug development Thus the aim is to initiate drug development which not only treats obesity but also has a favorable impact on associated traits