James R Taylor, Eric Dietrich, Jason Powell

Type 2 diabetes and obesity commonly occur together. Obesity contributes to insulin resistance, a main cause of type 2 diabetes. Modest weight loss reduces glucose, lipids, blood pressure, need for medications, and cardiovascular risk. A number of approaches can be used to achieve weight loss, including lifestyle modification, surgery, and medication. Lorcaserin, a novel antiobesity agent, affects central serotonin subtype 2A receptors, resulting in decreased food intake and increased satiety. It has been studied in obese patients with type 2 diabetes and results in an approximately 5.5 kg weight loss, on average, when used for one year. Headache, back pain, nasopharyngitis, and nausea were the most common adverse effects noted with lorcaserin. Hypoglycemia was more common in the lorcaserin groups in the clinical trials, but none of the episodes were categorized as severe. Based on the results of these studies, lorcaserin was approved at a dose of 10 mg twice daily in patients with a body mass index ≥30 kg/m(2) or ≥27 kg/m(2) with at least one weight-related comorbidity, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, or dyslipidemia, in addition to a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity. Lorcaserin is effective for weight loss in obese patients with and without type 2 diabetes, although its specific role in the management of obesity is unclear at this time. This paper reviews the clinical trials of lorcaserin, its use from the patient perspective, and its potential role in the treatment of obesity.