Fenfluramine Weight Loss Drugs
Fenfluramine (the fen of fen/phen) and dexfenfluramine (Redux) were designed to suppress appetite and assist weight loss mainly by increasing cell-release of serotonin, an important brain-chemical.
Fenfluramine Weight Loss Pills
These women had one thing in common: they were all taking Chinese-made diet pills containing a variant of fenfluramine, an appetite suppressant that has been banned in the U.S. since 1997 for damaging heart valves.
Dexfenfluramine—An anorectic drug formerly marketed under the brand name Redux.
Etiology—The cause of a disease or medical condition.
Fenluramine—An anorectic drug formerly marketed under the brand name Pondimin.
Fenfluramine is the chemical name of a drug that inhibits the release of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is the "feel good me" drug that the brain produces.
"Fenfluramine hastened the age-old pursuit of dieters seeking a quick fix. Before Fenfluramine was discovered to be harmful and was removed from shelves, it created a flood of dieters seeking easy solutions to their long term weight problems.
The combined use of fenfluramine and phentermine for weight loss is a classic illustration of an unexpected deadly drug interaction.
As a result, dexfenfluramine (Redux), fenfluramine (Pondimin), and the combination drug commonly called fen-phen, fenfluramine (Pondimin) have been pulled from the market.
The combined drug treatment using fenfluramine and phentermine (known as “fen/phen') is no longer available due to the withdrawal of fenfluramine from the market after some patients experienced serious heart and lung disorders.
Some active ingredients for diet pills in the recent past were phentermine and fenfluramine. These work by blocking certain metabolic feedback pathways that result in weight gain. Their use in combination apparently yielded considerable success, too.
It should be noted that the vast majority of cases of PPH have occurred in patients who were taking fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine, either alone or in combination.
If you have ever taken fenfluramine and phentermine (Fen/Phen and Redux) you should be aware that these pills have been recalled by the USDA. They have been linked to heart-valve disease.
The drug lorcaserin works on the serotonin receptor -- the same appetite-controlling hormone targeted by the notorious drug fenfluramine, the "fen" component of combination medication fen-phen.
Phen-fen: A weight loss drug made up of fenfluramine and phentermine. Its use has been linked to heart valve problems and has been banned by the FDA.
In 1997, studies found that as many as one third of the people who took fen-phen, a popular and effective diet-drug combination of fenfluramine and phentermine hydrochloride, developed heart valve disease.
Examples of prescription appetite suppressants include Dexfenfluramine, Phentermine, Diethylpropion, and Phendimetrazine. Many of the over-the-counter appetite suppressants are based off the ingredients hoodia or green tea.
Effect of dietary manipulation on substrate flux and energy balance in obese women taking the appetite suppressant dexfenfluramine. Am J Clin Nutr 68:1012-1021. Popp-Snijders C, Schouten JA, Heine RJ, van der Meer J, van der Veen EA. 1987.
 See also: Health, Diet, Weight loss, Eating, Fat
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