The search for peripherally acting drugs for the treatment of obesity - a review.

Current pharmacological therapy for the obese patient focuses primarily on centrally acting drugs that affect food intake. At the research level, there is an awareness of the possibility of discovering peripherally acting drugs to modify metabolic processes and thereby create favourable changes in energy balance. Whilst a number of compounds have been shown to be effective as slimming agents in experimental animals, none, as yet, have proved effective in man.