Health & Medical Advice and Information - UK Medical Health

In a world that continues to place more value on convenience and speed, our diets and health will continue to suffer. Obesity rates are at an all time high. People don’t have the time, energy or money to eat right. Junk food is now much more affordable than fruits and vegetables and crazy work schedules make regular meals times nearly impossible. We eat what we can, when we can, and hope for the best. The result is quite simple: We are getting fatter and many folks don’t know how to get it under control.

Diet pills, of course, are not new. Though critics point toward a history of nasty side effects, and rightly so, the science of losing weight continues to become more focused. Pharmaceutical companies are not slowing down in the development of new medications designed to help people lose weight. Two new medications, Histalean and Excalia, are going through clinical trials right now. The development of these two new drugs is further evidence that, though science hasn’t been able to develop the perfect diet pill, they are getting closer to designing a series of different medications that will work well for different types of people. In the long run, these advancements will prove to be beneficial to many who have found traditional weight loss medications to be ineffective.

Histalean is a repurposed drug that was originally used to treat vertigo. Having been widely used in Europe and Canada for the last 30 years, recent studies show additional benefits. Aside from performing its initially intended function, this betahistine based drug also blocks receptors in the brain that cause the body to feel hungry and to crave fatty foods. Histalean has sailed through its clinical trials because the drug has already been in use for nearly 30 years. The side effects are minimal, and safety isn’t a concern to the FDA with this drug as it is with many other diet or weight loss drugs.

Initial reports from researchers suggest that, although Histalean still has a way to go before it is approved by the FDA, it could be one of the most effective slimming pills that we have seen to date. In a series of Phase II clinical trials, all women under 50, those who took Histalean for 12 weeks lost 7 times more weight than those who took a placebo. One additional highlight from the trials was that those tested showed no or minimal side effects.

Excalia is a another recently developed weight loss drug. Like Histalean, Excalia must still undergo some rigorous testing, but it appears initially that it will be a very effective drug. Excalia is made by blending two drugs that already have FDA approval and which are very popular in the American pharmaceutical marketplace.  The first ingredient is Zonisamide, which is commonly used to help control epileptic seizures. The second is Bupropion, commonly sold under the brand names Wellbutrin and Zyban. These drugs are used as an anti-depressant and as an aid to quit smoking respectively. The combination of these drugs, some are saying, is the miracle that our over obese society has been waiting for.

As well as being an appetite suppressant, Excalia it works to speed up the body’s metabolism and keep it there. The body’s increased metabolic rate allows one to burn more calories in less time.  The numbers being touted following the Phase II clinical trials for Excalia are a staggering 12% weight loss after 48 months. While it may not seem like a huge number to those who are proponents of exercise and diet control as a primary means of weight loss, the idea that a pill by itself can produce such a dramatic result is rather staggering.

Though the two drugs, Histalean and Excalia, operate quite differently, they share one common feature that may serve to make them the most popular weight loss drugs ever. If the two new drugs get the go ahead, they will provide serious competition to the existing medications available: Acomplia; Reductil and Xenical.

If these two drugs can successfully find their way through FDA and European Medicine Agency approval, millions stand to benefit. Though the diet drugs don’t equate to the healthy benefits of a complete lifestyle change, they can be the catalyst that will help those who struggle with obesity to turn the corner. They just might be the wonder drug that you’ve been waiting for.