[Rimonabant improves cardiometabolic risk profile in obese or overweight subjects: overview of RIO studies].

RIO (Rimonabant In Obesity and related disorders) is a large phase 3 programme (>6600 patients) evaluating the efficacy and safety of rimonabant (5 or 20 mg/day), a CBI receptor antagonist of endocannabinoid system, in obese or overweight patients with or without comorbidities (RIO-Europe and RIO-North America), with untreated dyslipidaemia (RIO-Lipids) or with type 2 diabetes treated with metformin or sulfonylurea (RIO-Diabetes). Compared to placebo, rimonabant 20 mg/day consistently increases weight loss, reduces waist circumference, increases HDL cholesterol, lowers triglyceride levels, diminishes insulin resistance, and reduces the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Almost half of the metabolic effects, including adiponectin increase, occur beyond weight loss, suggesting a direct peripheral effect of rimonabant.