Conditions: Overweight Obese
Keywords: overweight obese central adiposity Laser lorcaserin low level laser therapy belviq
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 44
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
Currently in the United States about 97 million adults are considered obese, accounting for about 33% of the American adult population (compared to 22.9% in 1988). Obesity, defined as a body mass index of 30.0 or higher, is accountable for 44% of the diabetes, 23% of the ischemic heart disease and between 7% and 41% of certain cancers. The Erchonia® Zerona™ 2.0 Laser (which will be used in this study) has been approved by the FDA (K123237) as a non-invasive dermatological aesthetic treatment which can be used by individuals intending to reduce circumference of hips, waist, and thighs. Lorcaserin is a selective serotonin 2C (5-HT(2C)) receptor agonist. The exact mechanism of action is not known, but lorcaserin is believed to promote satiety and decrease food intake by activating 5-HT(2C) receptors on anorexigenic pro-opiomelanocortin neurons in the hypothalamus. Lorcaserin was approved by the FDA on June 2012 for weight management in people with a BMI of \> 27 kg/m2 (overweight) when accompanied by a weigh-related condition such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure or in people with a BMI \> 30 kg/m2 (obese). The purpose of this pilot study is to obtain preliminary data on: 1) effectiveness of the combination of LLLT and lorcaserin for reducing abdominal subcutaneous fat in overweight/obese individuals; 2) impact of LLLT on inflammatory biomarkers, blood sugar, and cholesterol.

Detailed description:
This study is being done to find out how effective Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT - Erchonia® Zerona™ 2.0 Laser) is compared to Lorcaserin (Belviq®) in helping overweight people reduce their weight gain - especially in the central body region. Subjects will undergo 2 screening visits in which the investigators will take their medical and weight concern histories; and if found eligible, they will be randomized to one of three groups: 1) 12 weeks of LLLT, 2) 12 weeks of Lorcaserin, and 3) 12 weeks of a combination of both Lorcaserin and LLLT. Full study participation will last approximately 6 months and consists of 10 visits- 9 clinical and 1 phone call. During this study subjects will be provided with weight prevention counseling and be asked to complete 3 additional fasting blood draws. There will be one urine pregnancy test (for females only) at the beginning of the study.

Arms:
arm 1: Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) once a week for 12 weeks arm 2: locarserin monotherapy - 10 mg, twice daily for 12 weeks arm 3: LLLT once a week for 12 weeks and 10 mg of Lorcaserin twice daily for 12 weeks

Interventions: intervention 1: LLLT intervention 2: Lorcaserin
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: The LLLT uses 6 diode laser heads - each emitting 17 mW output. Subject will receive 30 minutes of therapy in the frontal central area and 30 minutes of therapy in the back central area, once a week for 12 weeks. intervention 2: 10 mg pills twice daily for 12 weeks.

Protocol document: