L'etude clinique du mois. Etudes cliniques a long terme (1-2 ans) avec l'orlistat, nouveau medicament pour le traitement de l'obesite.

Orlistat (Xenical), whose original mechanism of action consists of the selective inhibition of gastrointestinal lipases, has been recently commercialized for the treatment of obesity. Despite its recent launch and when compared to common anorectic agents, it has been much better evaluated in long-term trials carried out according to the rules of Good Clinical Practice. We will summarize the four recently published randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials lasting up to 1 to 2 years and evaluating the effects of orlistat 3 x 120 mg/day in obese patients (BMI > or = 28 kg/m2).