Rimonabant: the first therapeutically relevant cannabinoid antagonist

The present paper synthetically reviews the multiple experimental lines of evidence indicating the ability of the prototypic cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist, rimonabant (also known as SR 141716), to suppress the reinforcing/rewarding properties of different drugs of abuse, including cocaine, heroin, nicotine and alcohol, in laboratory rodents. This paper also reviews the data demonstrating that rimonabant reduces food intake and body weight in laboratory animals and humans. Taken together, the data reviewed here suggest that rimonabant may constitute a new and potentially effective medication for the treatment of drug addiction and obesity-related disorders.