|
|
||||||||
Original Research |
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, New Jersey
Address reprint requests to: Jianguo Zhi, Ph.D., Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., 340 Kingsland St., Nutley, NJ 07110-1199. E-mail: jianguo.zhi{at}roche.com
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Methods: This was a 21-day, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled mineral balance study conducted in adolescent obese volunteers (BMI
85th percentile, adjusted for age and gender). Subjects were maintained on a hypocaloric diet with a normal daily mineral content in both treatment groups and received oral treatment with orlistat 120 mg (n = 16) or placebo (n = 16) three times daily for 21 days. Following a 14-day equilibration period, balances for calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc were measured for days 1521. Serum and urine electrolytes were also measured at baseline and at the end of treatment.
Results: On average, orlistat inhibited dietary fat absorption by
27%. This degree of dietary fat inhibition caused no significant changes in mineral balance between orlistat and placebo groups. In addition, serum and urine electrolytes (sodium and potassium) as well as urinary creatinine excretion were not affected by orlistat treatment. Orlistat was well tolerated; adverse events occurred mainly in the gastrointestinal tract and were of mild or moderate intensities.
Conclusions: Administration of orlistat had no significant effect on the balance of six selected minerals in adolescent obese patients.
Key words: dietary fat inhibition, orlistat, mineral absorption, adolescents
| INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Orlistat is a novel nonsystemically acting antiobesity agent that inhibits the activity of gastrointestinal lipases and has been shown to reduce the absorption of dietary fats by
30% [4]. By effectively limiting dietary fat absorption, it promotes weight loss and maintenance of lost weight in overweight and obese patients. Unlike other medications previously approved for the treatment of adult obesity, orlistat does not act on the central nervous system, and it is not significantly absorbed into the systemic circulation. Major adverse events reported with orlistat are predominantly gastrointestinal and related to the mechanism of action of the drug (increasing fecal fat excretion). By balancing a benefit-risk ratio, it is potentially advantageous to the treatment of childhood obesity with orlistat.
Minerals have many essential roles, some of which are also involved in the growth process. Although human gastrointestinal functional development is generally complete by the time of weaning in early childhood [5] and functionality is expected to be similar to adult in the age group proposed for this study (12 to 16 years of age), adolescents incorporate twice the amount of essential minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium into their bodies during the years of their growth spurt than at other times. It is therefore important to confirm that mineral balance is maintained, even though there is no plausible mechanism for a mineral imbalance during orlistat treatment in adolescents. The inhibition of dietary fat absorption caused by orlistat increases fecal fat excretion of triacylglycerol and other glycerol-based lipid with esterified long chain fatty acid, which could not theoretically promote the formation of insoluble mineral soaps (only with free fatty acids) and adversely affect mineral absorption and balance. It has recently been demonstrated that orlistat did not affect the extent of mineral absorption in adults [6].
Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to assess the effect of orlistat (120 mg tid) treatment on the balance (dietary intake minus urinary and fecal excretion) of selected minerals in obese adolescents, 12 to 16 years of age. Secondary objectives were to 1) assess the effect of orlistat treatment on plasma and urine sodium and potassium, 2) evaluate the extent of fecal fat excretion induced by orlistat and 3) measure the plasma levels of orlistat and its degradation metabolites in this population.
Due to the variation in transit time through the gut, a method is required to make no assumptions about day to day variations in bowel habit, is easy to perform and is practical and accurate. The continuous administration of radio-opaque pellets satisfies these criteria, and the method of Cummings et al. [79] was used in this study to correct mineral fecal excretions by fecal recovery of radio markers.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
85th percentile, adjusted for age and gender), otherwise healthy, male and female volunteers, 12 to 16 years of age were recruited into the study. Every attempt was made to include female subjects of childbearing potential, who were not menstruating nor expected to menstruate during any part of the sample collection period (days 15 to 21). This was due to the fact that in this study, days 15 through 22 were critical for the mineral balance segment of the assessment. Samples (urine and fecal) collected over that period were analyzed for mineral content including iron that could be affected by menstruation. The protocol was approved by the local ethics committee and the trial was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (as amended in Tokyo, Venice and Hong Kong). All volunteers provided written informed consent prior to study participation.
Procedures
A pre-study medical history was taken and a physical examination (also repeated on day 22) was performed within three week before the study. Volunteers who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to receive either 120 mg orlistat (n = 16) or matching placebo (n = 16) three times a day for 21 days in conjunction with a daily menu that repeated every three days. All subjects stayed at the CPU under supervision of centers staff, and they followed the same daily routine throughout the 21-day period. The standardized three-day menu cycle of the hypocaloric diet (
18% and 2840% lower than average energy allowance for female and male adolescents, respectively) was based on a food composition table (Table 1) and prepared by a dietitian of the clinical research center. Approximately 30% of energy was from fat.
|
To allow calculation of fecal recovery of minerals all subjects received quantitative fecal markers consisting of one capsule containing 10 small radiopaque cylindrical pellets (Konsyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Fort Worth, TX) concomitant with the test medication (orlistat 120 mg or placebo three times a day). Orlistat (Xenical®) and matching placebo capsules were manufactured by Hoffmann-La Roche, Nutley, NJ. The test medication was administered with 100 mL of water with the three main meals. Use of any other medication or alcohol was prohibited during the study, with the exception of medication required to treat adverse events or intercurrent illness.
Adverse events were monitored throughout the trial. Vital signs and standard laboratory tests (hematology, clinical chemistry and urinalysis) were performed at screening, before study entry on day 1 and at the end of the study (follow-up).
Sample Collections
The initial 14 days of the study were considered to be an equilibration period that allowed gastrointestinal clearance of unabsorbed minerals from the prestudy diet, homogeneous distribution of radiopaque markers in the gastrointestinal tract and steady-state fecal fat excretion by orlistat. Mineral balance was assessed on days 1521 (the balance period).
Fecal collection commenced on the morning of day 10 and continued through to the morning of day 22, over 24-hour periods. At the end of the 24-hour period, all fecal samples collected within that time were frozen immediately and stored at -20°C or lower. Commencing on the morning of day 10 until the morning of day 22, all urine passed was collected in 24-hour intervals. The samples were collected and refrigerated at 4°C until the end of the collection interval. The entire 24-hour sample was then frozen in an upright position at -20°C or lower. Fecal and urine samples from days 1521 were stored for subsequent analysis of minerals, urine creatinine, and fecal fat.
Pre-dose on the morning of days 1 and 22, a urine sample was collected from fasted subjects for the determination of sodium and potassium. Blood samples for determination of plasma concentrations of orlistat and its metabolites (M1, the ß-lactone ring hydrolysis product and M3, the subsequent metabolite after cleavage of the N-formyl leucine side chain) were taken four hours (expected peak time) after the second drug administration (mid-meal during lunch) on days 1, 7, 14 and 21.
Assays
Each daily fecal collection (days 1022) sample was examined by flat plate X-ray to determine the number of radio-opaque markers present. The fecal content of mineral and fat was normalized using the method of Cummings et al. to accurately determine mineral balance [79] and fecal fat excretion collected on a 24-hour interval.
All fecal samples were assayed for mineral and fat content by titrimetry (Medi-Lab BioProfil, Copenhagen, Denmark). For each mineral, the assay for mineral content was similar for meals, urine and fecal samples. With the exception of phosphorus that required UV-photometry after wet-ashing, all other five minerals were measured by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy [11]. Meal and fecal samples were subject to destruction before assay. For copper in meal and fecal samples, the assay required slight modification called electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy. The accuracy and precision of measurements for minerals and biochemical anylates were determined; precision ranged from 2% to 20%.
Fecal fat was determined using a standard approach [12]. Sodium, potassium and creatinine were determined by standard methods used for safety assessments. Serum sodium and potassium were analyzed with ion selective electrodes. Urinary sodium and potassium were analyzed by flame photometry; urine creatinine was assayed by Central Lab, LabCorp.
Plasma concentrations of orlistat and its metabolites (M1 and M3) were measured with a validated high pressure liquid chromatography method. The limit of quantitation was 0.2 ng/mL for orlistat, 0.32 ng/mL for M1 (Ro 42-3988) and 10 ng/mL for M3 (Ro 42-2556).
Statistical Analyses
Mineral balance was calculated by subtracting fecal and urinary mineral content from dietary mineral intake. The fecal mineral content was normalized by the ratio of the actual number of radio-opaque markers counted in fecal samples to the expected number excreted. No correction in mineral balance was made for unaccounted miscellaneous mineral losses from sweat, semen, menses and so on.
Mineral balance parameters were calculated separately for each subject using the average of the last seven days (days 1522) of treatment. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each treatment group, and 95% confidence intervals were used to estimate differences between treatment groups separately for each of the six minerals. For sodium, potassium, creatinine and fecal fat, as well as plasma concentrations of orlistat and its metabolites M1 and M3, summary statistics are provided.
A sample size of 32 was initially chosen based on an anticipated dropout rate of 15% to ensure 26 subjects were evaluable.
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
During the balance period, days 1521, average dietary fat intake was
59 g/day in both groups (Table 3). Mean fecal fat content was
16 g/day in the orlistat-treated group and
4 g/day in the placebo-treated group; fat was excreted fourfold more in the orlistat-treated group than that in the placebo-treated group.
|
|
During the balance period, urinary creatinine excretion was unaffected by orlistat treatment. Daily mean +/- SE (95% CI) urinary creatinine excretion was 1378 ± 96 (11821575) and 1480 ± 95 (12841575) mg/day in the placebo and orlistat treatment groups, respectively. Likewise, electrolytes were not affected by orlistat treatment. At the end-of-treatment, serum and urine sodium and potassium did not differ between treatment groups (Table 5).
|
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
The study also replicates an adult mineral balance study [6] where the no-effect conclusion was based on 95% CIs. The study in adults had 14 subjects per treatment group and a fecal marker recovery of observed to expected ratio with a mean of 0.92 (range 0.501.28) for placebo-treated subjects and mean of 0.95 (range 0.491.37) for orlistat-treated subjects. Mean fecal marker recovery in this study was slightly lower with 0.70 for placebo-treated subjects and 0.69 for orlistat-treated subjects. However, this lower recovery was balanced between the treatment groups and is likely to be due to the difficulty of conducting this type of study in an adolescent population.
As is similar to that found from previous studies in adults [4], the amount of fecal fat in this study was significantly increased during treatment with orlistat, resulting in a reduction of dietary fat absorption efficiency by
30%. This magnitude of inhibition of dietary fat absorption by orlistat administered for 21 days did not alter mineral balance in comparison with placebo treatment. However, it remains to be seen whether a longer time span may affect the mineral balance (e.g., calcium, phosphorus) negatively. It is possible that an impairment of the vitamin D absorption and metabolism due to the fat malabsorption may over time induce a secondary hyperparathyreoidism and pre-osteomalacia.
Due to the limitation of study complexity, this study did not measure the calcium and vitamin D metabolism such as measurement of serum PTH, 25-OH-Vitamin D and markers of bone resorption and bone formation (osteocalcin, pyridinolin cross links). Furthermore, DXA measurements of bone density would have added further data. These aspects are being investigated in a long-term (one-year) efficacy study in adolescent obese patients. In a completed adult study, one year of treatment with orlistat induced a relative increase in bone turnover in favor of resorption, possibly due to malabsorption of vitamin D and/or calcium. However, no changes in bone mass or density were seen after one year of orlistat treatment apart from those explained from the weight loss itself. Thus a one year orlistat treatment seems safe from a "bone preserving" point of view [13].
There were no changes in serum concentrations as well as urinary excretion of sodium and potassium during the 21-day course of the study in either treatment group. In addition, there was no clinically significant difference between the two treatment groups in urinary creatinine excretion during the study. Plasma concentrations of orlistat and metabolites were variable and somewhat lower than those found in adults at the same dose level [14]. This suggests that orlistat systemic exposure is not enhanced in the adolescent population.
Orlistat was well tolerated; adverse events were of a mild or moderate intensity, and the majority of these events were gastrointestinal. The only noted difference between the two treatment groups was the incidence of fatty/oily stool (placebo, no subjects; orlistat, 44%), a known, commonly occurring side effect of orlistat treatment.
In summary, this study provides evidence that in obese adolescents, orlistat has low systemic exposure, significantly inhibits dietary fat absorption, has no significant effects on either mineral absorption or mineral balance and is well tolerated. These results are consistent with those seen in obese adults [4,6,14].
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Received June 19, 2002. Accepted February 7, 2003.
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
C. S. Elangbam REVIEW PAPER: Current Strategies in the Development of Anti-obesity Drugs and Their Safety Concerns Vet. Pathol., January 1, 2009; 46(1): 10 - 24. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. C Dunican, A. R Desilets, and J. K Montalbano Pharmacotherapeutic Options for Overweight Adolescents Ann. Pharmacother., September 1, 2007; 41(9): 1445 - 1455. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |