Orlistat (Xenical™)

Previous | Next

Mechanism of Action

  • Inhibits pancreatic lipases Þ prevents absorption of 1/3 of dietary fat.

  • Also inhibits lipases that are involved in movement of lipids into cells.

Dose

  • 120mg TID before meals

Evidence

  • Cochrane review, 11 RCTs x 1 year

  • Wt loss vs. placebo 2.7kg (2.3 - 3.2)

  • ß 3% of baseline wt ³

  • 10% wt loss = 12% (8 - 16) of study participants

Adverse Effects

  • Primarily GI related

Reference

  • Padwal, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;(3):CD004094

Previous | Next