Rimonabant (Anti-obesity drug) may increase the risk of serious psychiatric problem

The European Medicines Agency has recommended doctors not to prescribe rimonabant (also known as Acomplia), a well known anti-obesity drug.

According to EMEA, the drug can alarmingly increase the risk of serious psychiatric problems and even suicides.

As the patients who are at risk cannot be identified that’s why marketing of the drug must be suspended, the EMEA says.

Those patients who are using the drug must consult their doctor; however, they need not to stop using the drug instantly.

According to an estimate, almost 97,000 obese or overweight people in the UK have been prescribed rimonabant in conjunction with diet and exercise and around 20,000 are currently using the drug.

The drug was approved by the NHS during June this year.

There were already concerns over the risks of depression and suicide linked with the drug and in July last year EMEA warned that the drug could be unsafe for those who were taking anti-depressant.

Doctors were instructed not to prescribe the drug to those patients who had a history of major depression.

The results of some recent studies have shown the drug doubles the risk psychiatric disorder in overweight patients if compared to those who were on placebo.

The researchers told that there were five suicides among the patients who had been taking the drug between June and August 2008.