Excalia causes weight loss of 9.2% after six months, 12% after eleven months

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007 7:41 am Email this article
People given a drug called Excalia, which is a combination of two drugs, 300 mg of Wellbutrin SR (bupropion sustained-release) plus 400 mg of Zonegran (zonisamide immediate-release), and who completed the study, lost an average of 9.2 percent of their body weight after six months compared to 6.6 percent for those given only Zonegran SR (zonisamide), 3.4 percent for those given only Wellbutrin SR (bupropion), and 0.4 percent for those given a placebo. After eleven months, those who continued taking Excalia had lost an average of 12 percent of their body weight. Weight Loss at 4 Months and 6 Months

Four month weight loss: 5.2%; Six months: 5.8%

The average weight loss among all patients given Excalia, including those who dropped out of the study early, was 5.2 percent after four months, and 5.8 percent after six months.

The percentages given in the first paragraph were higher because they only included data from people who completed the entire six months or eleven months.

 

5% and 10% Weight Loss

Three-fourths lost at least 5%, half lost 10%

Among patients who completed the study, nearly three-fourths of patients who completed the study (73 percent) lost at least 5 percent of their body weight after six months, and half (50 percent) had lost at least 10 percent.

 

Subjects

Subjects: 127 obese non-smokers

The study involved 127 obese people who did not smoke, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 40.

People were randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) Excalia (300 mg of Wellbutrin SR plus 400 mg of Zonegran SR); 2) 400 mg of Zonegran (zonisamide immediate-release); 3) 300 mg of Wellbutrin SR (bupropion), or; 4) a placebo.

 

Dose

Dose: 300 mg Wellbutrin SR plus 400 mg Zonegran

Excalia contains 300 mg of Wellbutrin SR (buprion sustained-release) plus 400 mg of Zonegran (zonisamide immediate-release).

The company’s website notes that they are also trying a sustained-release Zonegran to see if it works better.

 

Side Effects

One-third of patients given Excalia dropped out of the study due to side effects from Zonegran

Side effects occuring in more than 10 percent of patients included:

• insomnia
• nausea
• fatigue
• upper respiratory infection
• headache
• anxiety

 

Dropouts

One-third of patients given Excalia dropped out of the study due to side effects from Zonegran

Approximately one-third of people given Excalia (Wellbutrin plus Zonegran) dropped out of the study due to side effects that seemed to be due to the Zonegran.

The company says it is trying a new strategy to reduce side effects.

 

Lower Doses of Zonegran May Be Effective

Doses of only 100-200 mg of Zonegran may be effective and reduce side effects

According to information I got from Dr. Jay Piatek of Indianapolis, Indiana, lower doses of Zonegran (zonisamide), in the range of 100 to 200 mg per day, may be effective and reduce the incidence of side effects.

 

Read This Article

Anyone using Zonegran should read this article

I recommend that any doctor who is going to prescribe Zonegran, or any patient who is going to take Zonegran, to read the article posted here about how Dr. Piatek uses Zonegran.

Dr. Piatek notes that he starts with a very low dose of Zonegran and increases it very slowly in order to reduce the incidence of side effects.

 

Not Yet Available

Excalia is not yet approved for sale by the FDA

Excalia is being evaluated in clinical trials and has not been approved for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administation (FDA), however, your doctor can prescribe the exact same combination of drugs.

 

Phentermine Better Than Wellbutrin?

The combination of phentermine plus Zonegran may work better than Wellbutrin plus Zonegran

I do not believe that Wellbutrin is the best drug to combine with Zonegran (zonisamide) for weight loss.

I believe that phentermine plus Zonegran (zonisamide) is a better combination simply because phentermine is far more effective at causing weight loss than Wellbutrin.

I assume that the company is using Wellbutrin as part of the combination instead of phentermine is because they can get patent protection that they could not get if they used phentermine.

Many find Wellbutrin ineffective for weight loss

Several doctors and patients have said that Wellbutrin simply isn’t very effective for weight loss.

One doctor found Wellbutrin plus Zonegran ineffective

One weight loss doctor who I’ve known for 10 years, emailed and said, “I’m ready to call Excalia a bust. I have heard back from 10 of 14 trusted, intelligent people and NONE of them reports successful results.”

However, I don’t know what doses of Wellbutrin and Zonegran he was using.

If it were me, I would try phentermine plus Zonegran

If it were me, I would try phentermine plus Zonegran instead of Wellbutrin plus Zonegran.

If you try it, please let us know your results.

 

Zonegran Weight Loss Articles

Article about Zonegran for weight loss found here

Article about Zonegran (zonisamide) for weight loss can be found here.

 

Wellbutrin Weight Loss Articles

Article about Wellbutrin for weight loss found here

Article about Wellbutrin SR (bupropion sustained-release) for weight loss can be found here.

 

Thank You

Thank you to Todd Budreau

Thank you to Todd Budreau who brought this study to my attention.

REFERENCE

Anon. Orexigen reports positive phase ii results for excalia combination-therapy to treat obesity. http://wwweurekalertorg/pub_releases/2006-10/bp-orp102006php 2006 .Oct 22.

 

Company Info About Excalia

Info about Excalia can be found on the company’s website

Additional information about the studies using Excalia can be found on the Orexigen’s website which can be found here.

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Excalia

• Wellbutrin (bupropion)

• Zonegran (zonisamide)