In a new development for the recently launched weight loss drug Acomplia it now appears that the diet pill may have some other benefits too. Research undertaken by scientists in Italy shows that the rimonabant found in the Acomplia pill may slow down the onset of a dangerous type of breast cancer.

The research was led by a leading scientist at the Università degli Studi di Salerno and is due to be published in a future edition of the Molecular Pharmacology Journal. In the study it was noted that Acomplia slowed breast cancer cell proliferation in rodent and also in test tube experiments. The researchers were also very intrigued that the rimonabant was also effective in slowing the advance of a particular very aggressive metastatic breast cancer cell line known as MBA-MB-231. This particular type of breast tumor accounts for most of the cancer deaths and is known not to respond to most conventional treatments.

In the studies done in Italy the researchers said that in the test tube studies, rimonabant in different doses was used to examine tumor cell proliferation in very invasive metastatic and estrogen receptor negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and then also with the less dangerous and invasive estrogen receptor positive T47D and MCF-7 cells. The results showed that the proliferation of the very invasive metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells was slowed significantly even more than in the less invasive T47D and MCF-7 cells.

The researchers used mice for the research also and injected them with MDA-MB-231 cancer cells in order to grow tumors. The mice were then given rimonabant or a placebo and the results were monitored. Those mice that were given the rimonabant had a much smaller tumor mass compared with the placebo recieving mice and it was also seen that the rimonabant mice had no signs of toxic or hypolocomotor problems.

The Italian researcher has opened up new possible avenues for research on the endocannabinoid system which is a still very undocumented area of the human body that plays an important part in the way the body works and responds to signals. The research was partially financed by the drug company that makes Acomplia, Sanofi-Aventis.