The new miracle weight-loss pill is just around the corner, according to NeuroSearch, the Danish pharmaceutical company who invented tesofensine. In a study presented in medical journal, The Lancet, research involved 203 obese patients whose average weight was 220 pounds. The researchers found that those individuals on the highest dose of tesofensine lost an average of 28 pounds as opposed to an average of 5 pounds lost among the placebo group.

Accidental discovery
The drug works by activating neurotransmitters in the brain - noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin – and acts as an appetite suppressant. The drug was 'discovered' while the company was researching treatment for Alzheimers and Parkinson's disease, as they found that the drug promoted weight loss in patients.

The way forward?
Dr. Arne Astrup of the University of Copenhagen, who led the study, said he was excited with the progress of the drug: "If tesofensine will prove to live up to this weight loss effect in 12 months' Phase III trials, thereby opening a whole new dimension in obesity management that an effectively compete with gastric surgery, this drug will definitely set a new standard in obesity treatment."

Less encouragingly, it was reported that the subjects testing the highest dose of the drug showed an increase in blood pressure and reported other symptoms, such as insomnia, nausea and diarrhoea. In addition to this, the behaviour of those given tesofensine was reported to be more aggressive than those in the placebo, with heightened anger, hostility and confusion being reported.

Longer testing required
Contrary to other weight loss drugs, that are often tested for between one to four years, this study lasted for 6 months and it is usually found that weight loss is rapid during the first 6 months and then declines thereafter. Also, the study was funded by Neurosearch themselves, lending less credibility to the findings.