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"A new version of a weight-loss drug in development may have eliminated some scary side effects. Rimonabant was hailed as a promising anti-obesity treatment until it was linked with severe depression and suicidal thoughts. Now scientists have identified a similar compound that cannot enter the brain. Obese mice that received it orally lost weight with no adverse behavioral changes. The drug blocks cannabinoid receptors (the ones that give marijuana its effects) outside of the brain, making the body more sensitive to the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin, says lead researcher Joseph Tam, a staff scientist at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. If further testing is successful, the drug could become available in five to seven years, Tam says.\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n#### See Also\\n\\n- [The F Word](http://www.allure.com/allure-magazine/2012/10/fat-the-f-word)\\n\\n\\n- [Body News: Slimming Cream](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/health/2012/slimming-cream)\\n\\n\\n- [Body News: Belly-Fat Fighters](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/health/2012/belly-fat-fighters)"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.allure.com/story/weight-loss-pill>