cannabisnews.com: 'Munchies' Study Sparks Diet Drug 'Munchies' Study Sparks Diet Drug Posted by CN Staff on August 14, 2002 at 08:19:55 PT By Hollister H. Hovey Source: Associated Press French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Synthelabo hopes scientific knowledge gained from marijuana will help the masses curb the "munchies." The company reasons that if smoking pot makes people hungry, a compound that blocks the hunger-inducing effects of marijuana -- like its experimental drug Rimonabant -- could make a great diet drug. Such a drug could contract waistlines while fattening Sanofi's sales. The National Institutes of Health estimates that a quarter of the country is officially obese and more than half is overweight. Prescription diet drugs brought in $417 million in the United States last year, a relatively small amount that underscores the lack of a serious blockbuster in the marketplace. Sanofi based Rimonabant's chemistry on the discoveries scientists have made about the links between marijuana and hunger. With a weed-induced high comes a voracious urge to eat, which smokers refer to as "the munchies." Doctors initially thought marijuana affected the brain in a fairly random manner, like alcohol, and that hunger was one of those random effects. But in the late 1980s, researchers discovered that the hypothalamus, the part of the brain which controls our most basic functions like movement, memory, perception and hunger, is covered in receptors which serve as docking stations for cannabis molecules. When marijuana chemicals settle into the receptors, the brain gets the message that the body needs food. But these receptors aren't sitting there waiting for a person to light up a joint. The human body makes its own marijuana-like substances called cannabinoids which doctors now know play a large part in giving us an appetite. Based on this premise, Sanofi's researchers found a synthetic compound called a cannabinoid receptor antagonist that caps off the receptors, preventing cannabinoids from locking on and sending the "feed-me" message. George Kunos, a neurobiologist with the NIH's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, led a 2001 animal study on cannabinoids and eating habits. After seeing the successful results in animals, Sanofi started to test the treatment on humans. In a short, 16-week Phase IIb trial, Sanofi studied obese patients on various oral doses of Rimonabant compared with patients receiving a placebo. The heavier the dose, the more weight was lost, with a decrease of around 4 kg, or 8.8 pounds, at the end of the trial in the highest dose group. Rimonabant caused some gastrointestinal side effects at the highest dose, but was generally well-tolerated, a Sanofi spokesman said. However, other potential weight-loss remedies have worked in the first six months of clinical trials, but then started losing effectiveness as the body built up resistance to the treatments. Of course, long-term safety is also a huge concern. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration generally likes to see two years of safety data before making final approvals for obesity drugs, doctors said. Last August, the company initiated phase III trials of Rimonabant for obesity, studying 6,180 patients. The first study is a two-year North American trial of 2,800 patients comparing 5 milligram and 20 milligram doses of Rimonabant to placebo for weight reduction and prevention of weight regain. The company is also conducting a two-year, 1,400-patient trial in Europe with the same standards. Alongside the trials, Sanofi is running two other 990-person studies looking at the effects of the drug in patients with diabetes and lipid problems. Weight loss from the Phase II trials was "in the same ballpark as medicines we've seen before, but you can't predict what's going to happen long-term," said Dr. Lewis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at the Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, which is participating in the latest human trials. But if the drug proves to have staying power, it would be entering a potentially huge market for prescription diet drugs that remains fairly untapped. Meanwhile, insurers often balk at reimbursing patients for diet drugs, which they commonly group with other "lifestyle medicines" such as erectile dysfunction or baldness treatments. Without insurance coverage, the $90 to $100 a month price tag can be a bit heavy for some consumers to pay out of pocket. However, Americans desperately need to lose weight. The NIH estimates the prevalence of obesity in the U.S may have increased by more than 75 percent in the last two decades. Obesity and the diseases with which it's associated cost the, estimates that the prescription diet drug market will climb to $1.4 billion by 2010. Source: Associated Press Author: Hollister H. HoveyPublished: August 14, 2002Copyright: 2002 Associated Press Related Articles:Scientists Find Way To Block Effects of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9350.shtmlMarijuana Munchies May Hold a Key to Obesity http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9340.shtmlStraight Dope on the Munchies http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9338.shtmlMarijuana-Like Substance in Brain Trigger Appetite http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9337.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #12 posted by FoM on August 14, 2002 at 12:27:33 PT Nicholas You're welcome and there are only a few times in one's life that an event happens that touches your soul and having a baby is one of them. Enjoy every minute of it! PS: Hey You is OUT! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Nicholas Thimmesch on August 14, 2002 at 12:21:29 PT: Any... ....day/moment/second now: official "due" date is August 28th. NORML's Legal Director Donna Shea swears it's the 24th 'cause of the full moon. Sitting on pins & needles until then!!! Thanks to everyone for their thoughts: Papa Wolfe (aka THIMMESCH). [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on August 14, 2002 at 12:07:35 PT Nicholas When's the baby due? [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Nicholas Thimmesch on August 14, 2002 at 11:51:50 PT: Doc: The Dutch prevailed.... ....over "Dutch" in this case: Reagan Loving Americans: 0. Liberal Leaning Netherlands: 1.And I kinda like: "Hey You", too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 14, 2002 at 11:50:58 PT Let Me See You wife has made good picks and poor NORML staffers. No no no no no no! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Ethan Russo MD on August 14, 2002 at 11:43:16 PT: Nick Mazel Tov. Be smart, dude, and let your lovely wife handle this! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Nicholas Thimmesch on August 14, 2002 at 11:35:54 PT: Proud father to be of one.... .....take your pick:BOY: Ronald Reagan Thimmesch GIRL: Reagan Thimmesch (Obviously the old Reagan fan THIMMESCH's picks, much to my wife's horror: hell, they are naming everything else in Washington after Reagan these days)BOY: Nicholas Daniel Thimmesch GIRL: Sophia Nicole Thimmesch (My more sensible wife's picks)TOP TEN NORML STAFF PICKS:10)D.A.R.E. 9) UNNORML 8) THIMMESCH !!! 7) Baby Gateway (leading to other babys?) 6) Bonger 5) Bud 4) Buddy 3) Bubba 2) Bad Boy (after dad) 1) "Hey You!" [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 14, 2002 at 11:10:40 PT Nicholas You're going to be a Daddy? That's wonderful! Good Luck to the both of you! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Nicholas Thimmesch on August 14, 2002 at 11:07:19 PT: Oh Martha!..... ....just trying to bring a little humor to Cannabis News readers from LMRON (Last Morons to Retreat from Our Nation)on an otherwise droll Wednesday here in HHH (Hot -- I mean 100 degree plus hot -- Humid (you could swim in the air) and Hazy (no need to smoke, just breath!) Washington, DC! With everyone gearing up for Seattle's 11th Hempfest this weekend, it's been a good day to check on marijuana news and for me, prepare to be a daddy (real soon!). Love to all: THIMMESCH [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 14, 2002 at 10:54:01 PT Oh Nicholas! You're Too Much! LOL! Twinkies Project! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Nicholas Thimmesch on August 14, 2002 at 10:50:54 PT: I dunno Dr. Russo..... ....I just know that after reading this I was mysteriously directed to the following: http://www.twinkiesproject.com/T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. stands for Tests With Inorganic Noxious Kakes In Extreme Situations. T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. is a series of experiments conducted during finals week, 1995, at Rice University. The tests were designed to determine the properties of that incredible food, the Twinkie. Test Information: Test Subject 1: Standard Twinkie Test Subject 2: Lovett College Sophomore Control Subject: Standard Twinkie Test Location: 4th floor room, Lovett College, Rice University Start Time: Tuesday, May 2, 1995 21:21 CST Stop Time: Wednesday, May 3,1995 21:50 CST Test Description: This test was designed to test whether Twinkies are intelligent. We decided to do this test last, because we "killed" a lot of Twinkies during these experiments, and didn't want to know before the other tests were over if they were sentient. This test was a slightly modified version of the Turing test, designed to check computers for artificial intellegence (AI). The theory is that if you ask questions by typing on a computer keyboard and cannot distinguish whether the responses come from a human on the other end, or a computer program, then the program is artificially intelligent. Observations: Before Test: Before the test, the Twinkie was relatively quiet, and the Lovett sophomore was confused by the whole thing. One typical statement was, "Wait, you're testing to see if a Twinkie is intelligent?" Immediate Results: Figure 1:The second (and by far more successful) human subject enjoying a quick laugh with his Twinkie counterpart (seated on the right) We feel obligated to mention that the test was conducted twice. The first time, our subject was a Lovett freshman, but after two questions we discovered that he had eaten his subject counterpart, so the test was aborted and new subjects (human and Twinkie) were chosen. The human and Twinkie subjects were placed together behind a sheet (see Fig. 1). The sentient nature of the human subject was at this point brought into question. When asked to assign himself and the Twinkie the designations A & B without telling us which was which, the human promptly replied "I'll be A." However, we decided to continue the test. Part I: The following four questions were asked, and each subject was allowed to answer. The order of answers alternated to balance out the "thinking" time. Q (cg): What would you describe as the purpose of your existence? Subject A: (no answer) Subject B: To woo women. Q (ts): Describe where the other subject is, relative to you. Subject B: On a chair. Subject A: (no answer) Q (cg): Describe the last meal you ate. Subject A: (no answer) Subject B: These chicken chunks (after joking about eating subject A) Q (ts): How do you feel about your mother? Subject B: She gives me money, I like her. Subject A: (no answer) Part II: Next, some free association was done on each of the subjects. Subject A Subject B Prompt Answer Prompt Answer Love (cg) (no answer) Health (cg) Sex Spam (cg) (no answer) Lovett (cg) Sex Blender (ts) (no answer) Ribosome (ts) Sex Flame (ts) (no answer) Chlorophyll (ts) Sex Long Term Results: After the test was over, our human subject was allowed to eat the Twinkie subject. After he departed, we analyzed the data. After careful study of all responses, we determined that subject A was the Twinkie, and B was the human. Since we were able to distinguish between the two subjects, the Twinkie fails the Turing test. Conclusions: Twinkies are not sentient in any way we can understand. Possible Applications: If you want to amuse your friends, perform this test with them and a Twinkie. They will either think you are very weird and never talk to you again, or they will enjoy the humor of it all and get a tasty snack treat to boot! Sounds about as plausible as the other study: THIMMESCH http://www.twinkiesproject.com/turing.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on August 14, 2002 at 08:59:06 PT: Sounds Good, But--- Rimonabant is otherwise known as SR 141716, a cannabinoid antagonist.Sanofi presented information on their initial clinical trials in Spain last year, and reportedly most people lost weight, some with accompanying nausea (which does tend to curb one's appetite, no?). Few, if any, additional side effects were reported.I am highly skeptical. Figure this. Endocannabinoids (endogenous cannabinoids) are at the basis of many of our essential functions: stimulating appetite, helping us to forget so our memories are not too cluttered, modulating our pain, regulating our muscle tone, and modulating our moods. Perhaps the first cohort of obese people tested were so happy to lose weight that they did not complain about anything else, but I am highly suspicious that upon further trials, this drug may well aggravate migraine and other pain states, produce depression, and introduce a wide variety of other significant side effects. In my unofficial poll, neither I nor any of my cannabinology friends would ever take it. Time will tell, but I will be surprised if this ever achieves the regulatory green light. More promising for weight loss will be agents working on the leptin mechanism that does not affect such a wealth of other essential physiological systems. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment