Rimonabant side effects including depression and suicide, potential heart problems

Patients taking the Sanofi-Aventis anti-obesity drug Acomplia, known generically as rimonabant, are likely to suffer rimonabant side effects such as depression and anxiety. Another rimonabant side effect is an increased amount of  suicidal thoughts. Rimonabant -- also known by the brand name Zimulti in the United States -- is the first in a new class of weight loss drugs that switch off the same brain circuits that make people hungry when they smoke cannabis.
   A study in the British Medical Journal in November also found that people taking anti obesity drug rimonabant would only see "modest" weight loss with many remaining significantly obese or overweight. A natural alternative is a physician formulated herbal formula called Diet Rx.

Rimonabant side effects
In November of 2007, Danish researchers reviewed four published studies featuring 4,100 patients and found that people taking rimonabant 20 milligrams per day were twice more likely to discontinue treatment due to depressive disorders and three times more likely to stop because of anxiety than those who received a placebo.
In addition to depression and anxiety, rimonabant side effects include dry mouth and headaches.

Rimonabant and cardiovascular risk factors
Rev Med Suisse. 2009 January. Vincent M, Golay A. Service d'enseignement thérapeutique pour maladies chroniques, Département de médecine communautaire et de premier recours, HUG, 1211 Genève 14.
Cardiovascular mortality remains the first cause of death worldwide. This high mortality rate is directly associated with the increase of cardiovascular risk factors such as: obesity, hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia. Current tight management and new pharmacological treatment of cardiovascular risk factors decrease the cardiovascular mortality rate in general population. However, insulin resistance, hypo-adiponectinemia and inflammatory factors persist and are linked with atherosclerosis. Additional therapeutic solutions are needed. Rimonabant, a CB1-blocker brings novel perspective to manage several cardiovascular risk factors. Unfortunately, Rimonabant has been withdrawn from the market. Therefore, it has not been possible to assess in long term its efficacy on cardiovascular mortality.