A report indicates that more “magic bullet” type anti-obesity drugs, Qnexa from Vivus, Lorcaserin hydrochloride from Arena Pharmaceuticals and Contrave from Orexigen, are destined to enter the FDA approval process soon. Reports are that obese patients who took one of the medications along with reducing calories and exercising lost about 15% of their starting weight in a 12-month period.

A new study, published in an editorial in the October issue of British Medical Journal, has indicated a link between mental illness and obesity in patients. “Evan Atlantis from the University of Adelaide’s School of Medicine said that several psychosocial, lifestyle and physiological factors may be involved in the complex inter-relationship between obesity and mental illness. Reduced physical activity and overeating, particularly comfort foods rich in fats and sugars, to improve mood are common among depressed and anxious patients.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc’s experimental obesity pill lorcaserin met one of two federal weight-loss goals, a result sufficient to seek US approval of the drug. About 47% of patients on lorcaserin after one year of treatment lost 5% or more of their body weight compared with 25% of those taking a placebo, or dummy pill, Arena said in a statement.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc’s experimental obesity pill lorcaserin met one of two federal weight-loss goals, a result sufficient to seek US approval of the drug. About 47 percent of patients on lorcaserin after one year of treatment lost 5 percent or more of their body weight compared with 25 percent of those taking a placebo, or dummy pill, Arena said.

Major depressive disorder affects nearly 340 million people worldwide and as many as 20% of those patients are resistant to treatment. A team of psychiatrists at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center is studying two novel approaches, one utilizing a drug and one a procedure, to better help those affected by depression. In the first study, an investigational medicine is administered by intravenous infusion, which may be more powerful than many of the oral antidepressants currently available and works on a common neurotransmitter in the brain called glutamate, instead of on serotonin or noradrenalin.

Low-carbohydrate diets have helped some people lose weight quickly, but the diets’ long-term effects on cardiovascular health have been uncertain. The recent research conducted by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on mice depicted that those on the low carb-high protein diet gained less weight than the mice on other diets. While there were no major differences in cholesterol levels among the mice, the ones on the low carb-high protein diet accumulated more plaque in their coronary arteries. They aso had lower levels of cells needed to repair and re-grow new blood vessels.

According to a new study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, psychosocial therapy combined with medication can effectively improve depression and recovery in stroke patients. The long-term study indicated that adding psychosocial therapy not only improved depression scores short term, it also sustained the improvements for long term.

A research conducted on 218 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients by Japanese research team from Nagoya City University and Nagoya University Graduate Schools of Medicine indicated that depression had a direct impact on the severity of the pain. The research, in which levels of CRP (a plasma protein produced by the liver) were measured, indicated that the levels also rose during incidents of acute inflammation in RA. The combined effects of high CRP levels and depression predicted severe pain even more strongly. The result may help clinicians to control pain by addressing their patients’ psychological symptoms.

A study led by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher indicated on the brain chemical serotonin, when spurred by diet drugs such as Fen-phen, works to curb appetite. This knowledge could aid in the design of safer anti-obesity drugs nearly a decade after Fen-phen was banned for causing harmful side effects. The study found that serotonin activates some neurons and melanocortin-4 receptors, or MC4Rs, to curb appetite and at the same time blocks other neurons that normally act to increase appetite.

A new study conducted by a group of researchers led by Professor Bill Ledger from the University of Sheffield has suggested that minor weight loss in obese women could boost their chances of getting pregnant. The study was conducted on 40 obese women who were not ovulating, with several of them suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).