How does sibutramine work?
Sibutramine is believed to act through two different mechanisms: enhanced satiety, which helps to reduce the amount of food eaten, and a so-called thermogenic effect, which prevents the slowdown in the resting metabolic rate during weight loss. The resting metabolic rate is the amount of energy our bodies utilise to keep body processes (digestion, circulation, heart rate, breathing, body temperature, etc) going, even when we’re at rest. Unfortunately, when we go on a slimming diet and reduce our energy intake, the body adjusts to this semi-starvation by lowering the resting metabolic rate and thus also reducing the amount of energy the body requires to keep going. This results in a slowdown of weight loss a situation every dieter dreads. Studies conducted with sibutramine show that this compound is capable of reversing the slowdown of the resting metabolic rate so that slimmers don’t experience the dreaded weight-loss plateau. Weight-reduction medications that contain sibutramine, such
Ans. Animal studies show that sibutramine induces weight loss by a dual mode of action: increasing the feeling of fullness and enhancing thermogenesis.The amount of food we eat and the energy we use up is controlled by the brain. Two important chemical messengers involved in this process are noradrenaline and 5-HT. Animal studies show that sibutramine works by preventing the re-uptake of these messengers thereby prolonging their actions. By potentiating the function of these two neurotransmitters in the brain, sibutramine reduces food intake and increases energy expenditure.
