| " The European Medicines Agency advises patients with ongoing major depression or those on antidepressants against taking rimonabant. " " About 41,000 UK patients have been treated with rimonabant since it was launched in the UK in June 2006. " " Last month US safety officials voted to ban the pill amid concerns about increased suicide risk. " " Rimonabant, brand name Acomplia, is currently recommended for obese patients with a risk of developing diabetes or cardiovascular disease. " " It works by blocking receptors in the part of the brain that regulates food intake and the body's ability to break down sugars and fats in the blood. " "If you start to experience symptoms of depression while taking Acomplia, or if you are currently being treated with antidepressants, consult your doctor" " The UK's National Institute of Clinical and Health Excellence is currently appraising the drug for use on the NHS. " " The EMEA said doctors in the EU had been warned "of the risk of psychiatric side effects" since June 2006 but it was now upgrading this warning. " " But the agency concluded that the benefits of Acomplia continue to outweigh its risks, except in patients with ongoing major depression or taking antidepressants. " " The commonest psychiatric side effects are low mood and depression. Anxiety, irritability, nervousness and sleep disorders may also occur. " " Up to the end of June 2007, the UK's drug safety regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, had received a total of 318 cases, from UK sources, of adverse drug reactions which were suspected to have been caused by rimonabant. " "
... read the whole article |