MONTPELLIER, France, July 3 (UPI) -- A French-led study showed the anti-obesity drug rimonabant not only fights obesity-linked liver disease in obese rats but also improves lipid profiles.
Obesity has been found to be the main cause of several metabolic syndrome features, including hepatic steatosis -- an accumulation of fat in the liver. There are currently no drugs that have both anti-obesity effects and also reverse and prevent obesity-related steatosis, as well as a cluster of conditions such as high blood sugar and high triglycerides that can lead to cardiovascular disease.
The study was led by Mohammed Bensaid of Sanofi-Aventis in Montpellier, France -- the company that manufactures rimonabant. It showed treatment with rimonabant reduced liver enlargement, eliminated hepatic steatosis and decreased blood levels of enzyme markers that indicate liver damage.
"These data reveal rimonabant possesses a hepato-protective activity and suggest a new therapeutic role of this CB1 receptor antagonist in hepatic diseases," the researchers said.
The study appears in the July issue of the journal Hepatology.
