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Rimonabant Acomplia works by blocking the CB1 receptor, one of two receptors found in a newly described physiological system called the Endocannabinoid System (EC System) , believed to play a critical role in the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. The receptors are present on the surfaces of many cells throughout the body, including fat cells which are involved in lipid and glucose metabolism and those in the hypothalamus, the brain region that is thought to determine appetite.



Cannabinoids, chemical compounds produced by your body, latch on to the CB1 receptors, which are overactive in overweight and obese individuals, sending out a signal that prompts people to eat more. Researchers wondered whether a drug that halted this action might curb appetite, and in 2001, the first animal study was conducted at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda, Md. In the study, genetically altered mice that lacked cannabinoid receptors ate less than their litter mates, even after 18 hours of fasting. When the normal mice were given rimonabant, which blocked their CB1 receptors, the mice reduced their food intake. In 2002, Sanofi-Synthelabo began human tests.