Diet drug rimonabant (Acomplia / Zimulti) was found in a multi-center study in Japan to significantly reduce human visceral fat, the more dangerous kind of abdominal fat, according to Sanofi-Aventis

A report on the study providing the first direct evidence of the role of rimonabant in reducing the metabolically active fat, which surrounds such vital organ as the liver and pancreas, was presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes on Sept. 19th.

Sanofi contended during clinical trials that rimonabant reduced visceral fat beyond what would be expected from the associated weight-loss, but researchers said this study in which the visceral fat area of participants was assessed by CT scan provided the first direct evidence of this effect.

The visceral fat area in 526 obese Japanese participants in the study was significantly more reduced with those taking the customary 20 mg rimonabant dosage (-40.6cm2) than for those taking a placebo (-20.3cm2), researchers reported.

Two types of adipose tissue exist in the human body, characterised by anatomical and metabolic differences.

Subcutaneous fat, located directly under the skin, contains small insulin-sensitive adipocytes (fat cells), while the visceral fat (inter-abdominal adipose tissue), wrapped around the organs in the abdomen, contains large insulin-resistant adipocytes.

Excess visceral fat, present in patients with abdominal obesity, leads to metabolic imbalance, such as lipid disorders, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, factors leading to cardio-metabolic disease.