Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
A review shows that antidepressant treatment, and weight loss drugs, can help those with diabetes reduce to a healthier weight.
It's important for people with diabetes to keep their weight under control, for obesity will worsen their condition. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been looking at the role that drugs can play in helping diabetics lose weight.
They find that treatment with the antidepressant fluoxetine can help with weight loss, although the effect is only modest. Similarly, the two weight loss medications orlistat and sibutramine also help keep weight down. All three drugs helped reduce blood glucose levels too. But it is not clear yet if it is safe to take these drugs long term. It would also be interesting to know if better weight loss could be achieved by combining the drugs. Maybe a good approach would be to encourage lifestyle modification with, perhaps, support from drug therapy.
Source
Archives of Internal Medicine 12th July Volume 164 pages 1395-1404