Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30014268›Full record

ReviewDrugs2018

Centrally Acting Agents for Obesity: Past, Present, and Future.

Ann A Coulter, Candida J Rebello, Frank L Greenway

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Drugs, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
63citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
9.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

63 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 149 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Phytocompounds That Target White Adipose Tissue for Weight Loss: A Review Spanning From Ucp1 Induction in Rodents to Human Clinical Trials.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
    Review
  7. Anti-obesity Pharmacotherapy for Transplant Recipients.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026
    Review
  8. Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. GLP-1 receptor agonism: a transformative approach for managing type-2 diabetes and obesity.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2025
    Review
  12. Anti-Obesity Effects ofPreventive nutrition and food science · 2025
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Novel neural pathways targeted by GLP-1R agonists and bariatric surgery.Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology · 2025
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Melanocortin 4 receptor mutation in obesity.World journal of experimental medicine · 2024
    Review
  19. Review
  20. Article

3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ann A CoulterPennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA, 70808, USA.
Candida J RebelloPennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA, 70808, USA.
Frank L GreenwayPennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA, 70808, USA. Frank.Greenway@pbrc.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-6111
Pennington Biomedical Research Center · US

Funding

Tracking & Evaluation CoreU54GM104940 · NIGMS · LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR · PI Peter Todd Katzmarzyk · 2012 to 2026
$69.1M
Training in Botanical Approaches to Combat Metabolic SyndromeT32AT004094 · NCCIH · LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR · PI BRANTLEY, PHILLIP J, STEPHENS, JACQUELINE M · 2009 to 2024
$5.7M
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health T32 A T004094National Institute of General Medical Sciences 1 U54 GM104940NCCIH NIH HHS T32 AT004094NIGMS NIH HHS U54 GM104940
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

For many years, obesity was believed to be a condition of overeating that could be resolved through counseling and short-term drug treatment. Obesity was not recognized as a chronic disease until 1985 by the scientific community, and 2013 by the medical community. Pharmacotherapy for obesity has advanced remarkably since the first class of drugs, amphetamines, were approved for short-term use. Most amphetamines were removed from the obesity market due to adverse events and potential for addiction, and it became apparent that obesity pharmacotherapies were needed that could safely be administered over the long term. This review of central nervous system (CNS) acting anti-obesity drugs evaluates current therapies such as phentermine/topiramate, which act through multiple neurotransmitter pathways to reduce appetite. In the synergistic mechanism of bupropion/naltrexone, naltrexone blocks the feed-back inhibitory circuit of bupropion to give greater weight loss. Lorcaserin, a selective agonist of a serotonin receptor that regulates food intake, and the glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist liraglutide are reviewed. Future drugs include tesofensine, a potent triple reuptake inhibitor in Phase III trials for obesity, and semaglutide, an oral GLP-1 analog approved for diabetes and currently in trials for obesity. Another potential new pharmacotherapy, setmelanotide, is a melanocortin-4 receptor agonist, which is still in an early stage of development. As our understanding of the communication between the CNS, gut, adipose tissue, and other organs evolves, it is anticipated that obesity drug development will move toward new centrally acting combinations and then to drugs acting on peripheral target tissues.

Indexed as

AnimalsAnti-Obesity AgentsAppetite RegulationCentral Nervous System AgentsHumansObesityWeight LossAnti-Obesity AgentsCentral Nervous System Agents

Identifiers

PMID30014268
PMCPMC6095132
OpenAlexW2884008074

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.