How does it work?

Reductil ® (sibutramine) is the first compound in a new class of medications for reducing weight and keeping up this weight loss. Reductil contains the active ingredient sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate, which is a type of anti-obesity medicine.

The pharmacological actions of Reductil (sibutramine) are clearly different from those of other anti- obesity drugs. It works by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are stored in nerve cells and are involved in transmitting messages between the nerve cells. They are released from nerve cells as a message is transmitted. Once the message has been transmitted, the nerve cells then reabsorb the neurotransmitter. Sibutramine prevents two of these neurotransmitters, noradrenaline and serotonin, from being reabsorbed back into the nerve cells. Noradrenaline and serotonin are responsible for moderating mood and various other processes in the brain.

It is thought that sibutramine helps people to lose weight by increasing the amount of noradrenaline and serotonin free to act in the brain. This strengthens the feeling of fulfillment from eating, and so makes you feel satisfied after eating less food.

Sibutramine is only licensed to aid weight loss in people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, and those with a BMI of 27 or higher who also have other obesity related risk factors, such as type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol. It is only prescribed to people in these categories who have had difficulty achieving or maintaining weight loss of more than five per cent of their body weight over three months, using conventional weight loss programmes alone (e.g. diet and exercise).

You will need to continue with an appropriate diet and exercise programme while taking Reductil (Sibutramine), so that you are able to maintain your new weight after you have stopped treatment. Your doctor should give you advice to assist you with this.

Reductil's weight-reducing efficacy and good safety profile make it highly suited as an adjuvant to non- pharmacological therapy in obese patients for whom diet and physical activity alone have proved ineffective or inadequate.

Reductil® is not intended to replace conventional dietary and physical activity regimens, but is to be used as part of an integrated weight management programme.

The excellent tolerability profile of Reductil ® has been confirmed by its use in over 1.5 million patients.