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No compelling evidence that sibutramine prolongs life in rodents despite providing a dose-dependent reduction in body weight

International Journal of Obesity volume 35, pages 652–657 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

The health and longevity effects of body weight reduction resulting from exercise and caloric restriction in rodents are well known, but less is known about whether similar effects occur with weight reduction from the use of a pharmaceutical agent such as sibutramine, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.

Results and conclusion:

Using data from a 2-year toxicology study of sibutramine in Sprague-Dawley CD rats and CD-1 mice, despite a dose-dependent reduction in food intake and body weight in rats compared with controls, and a body weight reduction in mice at the highest dose, there was no compelling evidence for reductions in mortality rate.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Michelle Feese, Chasity Bender and Elizabeth Eadie for assistance with data entry and Dr Kyle Grimes for editorial assistance in manuscript preparation. This study was supported in part by NIH grants P30DK056336, P60DK079626, R01AG033682, T32DK062710, and T32HL079888. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIH or any other organization with which the authors are affiliated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    D L Smith Jr, T R Nagy & D B Allison

  2. Nutrition and Obesity Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    D L Smith Jr, R A Desmond, T R Nagy & D B Allison

  3. Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    H T Robertson & D B Allison

  4. Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    R A Desmond

Authors
  1. D L Smith Jr
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  2. H T Robertson
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  3. R A Desmond
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  4. T R Nagy
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  5. D B Allison
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D B Allison.

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Competing interests

DBA has received book royalties, grants, consulting fees, and donations from multiple profit and non-profit entities with interests in obesity, including pharmaceutical companies which compete with the manufacturers of sibutramine and from the manufacturers of sibutramine. TRN has received grants and consulting fees from profit entities with interests in obesity and owns common stock in other profit entities with interests in obesity, including companies that compete with the manufacturers of sibutramine. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on International Journal of Obesity website

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Smith, D., Robertson, H., Desmond, R. et al. No compelling evidence that sibutramine prolongs life in rodents despite providing a dose-dependent reduction in body weight. Int J Obes 35, 652–657 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.247

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.247

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