Use of dexfenfluramine, fenfluramine and phentermine and the risk of stroke. (1/42)

AIMS: To estimate the incidence of newly diagnosed idiopathic stroke among users of fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine and phentermine compared to obese nonusers. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study with nested case-control analysis utilizing data from the General Practice Research Database in the UK. Eight thousand four hundred and twenty-three subjects aged 69 years or less at the start of follow-up were exposed to at least one of the three study drugs and 17 225 similarly obese subjects were not exposed to any of the study drugs. RESULTS: We identified 45 incident cases of idiopathic CVA in this cohort of subjects. The incidence of CVA among all current users of a diet drug was 1.3/1000 person-years (95% CI 0.5, 3.5). The incidence for current fenfluramine users (n=2) was 2.6/1000 person-years (95% CI 0.7, 9.6), for current dexfenfluramine users (n=1) 1.1/1000 person-years (95% CI 0.3, 3.8), and for current phentermine users 0/1000 person-years (95% CI 0.0, 12.9). The incidence in obese nonusers was 0.6/1000 person-years (95% CI 0.4, 0. 9). The adjusted matched odds ratio (OR) for thrombotic stroke from the case-control analysis comparing current use of a diet drug to nonuse was 2.4 (95% CI 0.6, 9.1). There was only one exposed subject among seven who had haemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CVA in generally young obese subjects during use of fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine or phentermine is low. Although we found an OR of 2. 4 comparing users of any of the anorexiants with nonusers, this is based on only three exposed cases and the confidence limits are wide. We conclude that our study does not support a substantial increased risk of stroke attributable to the use of fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine or phentermine.  (+info)

Pharmacologic induction of weight loss to treat type 2 diabetes. (2/42)

OBJECTIVE: Most individuals with type 2 diabetes are overweight, and weight loss for them is an important therapeutic objective. However, usual weight-loss strategies have generally not produced sustained weight loss. Pharmacologic agents to assist weight loss might be useful, but no long-term data on their effectiveness and safety in patients with type 2 diabetes are available. We therefore initiated a 2-year placebo-controlled trial of the weight-loss medications fenfluramine and phentermine in type 2 diabetic subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 44 overweight (> 120% ideal body weight) subjects with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of fenfluramine and phentermine. All subjects received intensive nutrition counseling, an exercise prescription, and instruction in behavior modification. Subjects were randomly assigned to 20 mg fenfluramine three times a day and 37.5 mg phentermine daily (n = 23) or dual placebos (n = 21). Diabetes medications were adjusted as necessary to achieve glycemic goals. Changes in weight, glycemia, lipemia, and blood pressure were assessed every 2 months, as were adverse events. In September 1997, when fenfluramine was withdrawn from the U.S. market, fenfluramine was stopped in all subjects. Thus the length of drug treatment varied, but 16 subjects (8 in each group) reached 12 months of treatment. Only data obtained before the withdrawal of fenfluramine are included in this report. RESULTS: A study termination, diabetes medications had been reduced in 1 subject in the placebo group (5%) and 11 subjects in the drug treatment group (52%) (P = 0.005). Drug treatment resulted in significant reductions in body weight, BMI, and HbA1c at all time points through 6 months. Changes in weight at 6 months were -2.7 +/- 1.4 kg (mean +/- SEM) with placebo treatment and -9.6 +/- 1.5 kg with drug treatment (P = 0.003). Even though more subjects in the drug treatment group required reductions in diabetes medications, at 6 months, changes in HbA1c were -0.3 +/- 0.2% with placebo treatment and -1.6 +/- 0.3% with drug treatment (P = 0.002). Fasting plasma glucose and triglycerides were significantly reduced at some time points with drug treatment. No serious adverse events attributable to study medications were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Premature study termination decreased the power of our study at later time points. However, our data suggest that weight loss medications are an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes during active weight loss. Whether the benefit persists after weight loss has stopped remains to be determined.  (+info)

Low prevalence of valvular heart disease in 226 phentermine-fenfluramine protocol subjects prospectively followed for up to 30 months. (3/42)

OBJECTIVES: This investigation sought to determine the effect of phentermine-fenfluramine (phen-fen) on the prevalence of valvular heart disease in 226 obese subjects enrolled in a prospective, strict weight loss, research protocol. BACKGROUND: Early reports have suggested that the use of phen-fen for weight loss may be associated with increased valvular heart disease. Such reports were based on small numbers of patients, limited data on dose and duration of phen-fen therapy, and no correlation with matched controls. METHODS: All subjects underwent transthoracic echocardiography for significant valvular lesions within a mean of 97 days from the manufacturer's announcement of the voluntary withdrawal of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine. All echocardiograms were interpreted by two independent readers. RESULTS: The study population included 183 women and 43 men with a mean age of 46.9 +/- 8.9 years and mean starting body mass index of 39.8 +/- 7.7 kg/m2. Using the Food and Drug Administration criteria, significant aortic regurgitation was detected in 15 subjects (6.6%) and mitral regurgitation in 3 subjects (1.3%). Only one patient had significant regurgitation of both aortic and mitral valves. No valves had severe regurgitation. Significant valvular disease did not correlate with the dose or duration of phen-fen therapy. Furthermore, the prevalence of valvular regurgitation is comparable to the normal offspring in the Framingham Heart Study, who are similar in age, gender, and geographical location. CONCLUSIONS: Phen-fen therapy is associated with a low prevalence of significant valvular regurgitation. Valvular regurgitation in our subjects may reflect age-related degenerative changes.  (+info)

Fenfluramine and phentermine and cardiovascular findings: effect of treatment duration on prevalence of valve abnormalities. (4/42)

BACKGROUND: The combination of fenfluramine and phentermine was a widely used obesity treatment before the withdrawal of fenfluramine for an association with heart valve regurgitation. The prevalence and clinical significance of regurgitation among patients treated with these medications has yet to be fully established. METHODS AND RESULTS: To evaluate the potential association between the duration of treatment and the prevalence of heart valve abnormalities, we examined 1163 patients who had taken fenfluramine-phentermine and 672 control patients who had not taken the drug combination within 5 years. Mild or greater aortic regurgitation was present in 8.8% of treated patients and 3.6% of control patients (P<0.001). Moderate or greater mitral regurgitation was present in 2.6% of treated patients and 1.5% of control patients (P=0.18). The adjusted odds ratio compared with controls of aortic regurgitation of mild or greater severity increased according to duration of treatment: 90 to 180 days, 1.5 (P=0.23); 181 to 360 days, 2.4 (P=0.002); 361 to 720 days, 4.6 (P<0.001); >720 days, 6.2 (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest study to demonstrate a relation between the length of treatment with fenfluramine-phentermine and the prevalence of valvular abnormalities. These findings suggest that valvular abnormalities in patients who took fenfluramine-phentermine primarily involve those who had taken these medications for >6 months and predominantly results in mild aortic regurgitation. The valve regurgitation identified by this study was not accompanied by significant differences in cardiovascular symptoms nor physical findings other than a higher prevalence of heart murmurs.  (+info)

Appetite suppressants and valvular heart disease - a systematic review. (5/42)

BACKGROUND: Although appetite suppressants have been implicated in the development of valvular heart disease, the exact level of risk is still uncertain. Initial studies suggested that as many as 1 in 3 exposed patients were affected, but subsequent research has yielded substantially different figures. Our objective was to systematically assess the risk of valvular heart disease with appetite suppressants. METHODS: We accepted studies involving obese patients treated with any of the following appetite suppressants: fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine, and phentermine. Three types of studies were reviewed: controlled and uncontrolled observational studies, and randomized controlled trials. Outcomes of interest were echocardiographically detectable aortic regurgitation of mild or greater severity, or mitral regurgitation of moderate or greater severity. RESULTS: Of the 1279 patients evaluated in seven uncontrolled cohort studies, 236 (18%) and 60 (5%) were found to have aortic and mitral regurgitation, respectively. Pooled data from six controlled cohort studies yielded, for aortic regurgitation, a relative risk ratio of 2.32 (95% confidence intervals 1.79 to 3.01, p < 0.00001) and an attributable rate of 4.9%, and for mitral regurgitation, a relative risk ratio of 1.55 (95% confidence intervals 1.06 to 2.25, p = 0.02) with an attributable rate of 1.0%. Only one case of valvular heart disease was detected in 57 randomized controlled trials, but this was judged unrelated to drug therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of valvular heart disease is significantly increased by the appetite suppressants reviewed here. Nevertheless, when considering all the evidence, valvulopathy is much less common than suggested by the initial, less methodologically rigorous studies.  (+info)

Effects of anorectic drugs on food intake under progressive-ratio and free-access conditions in rats. (6/42)

The effects of two anorectic drugs, dexfenfluramine and phentermine, on food intake under different food-access conditions were examined. Experiment 1 compared the effects of these drugs on food intake under a progressive-ratio (PR) schedule and free-access conditions. Dexfenfluramine decreased food intake under both conditions, but the doses required to decrease intake under free-access conditions were higher than those required to reduce intake under the PR condition. Intermediate doses of phentermine sometimes increased breaking points, and higher doses decreased them. Phentermine decreased food intake at the same doses under both access conditions. Thus the potency of dexfenfluramine, but not phentermine, to decrease food-maintained behavior depended upon the food-access condition. Experiment 2 used a novel mixed progressive-ratio schedule of food delivery to study the duration of drug effects. Sessions consisted of five components separated by 3-hr timeouts. The ratio requirement reset at the beginning of each component and a new breaking point was obtained. Both dexfenfluramine and phentermine dose-dependently decreased breaking points early in the session. In some rats, compensatory increases in breaking point were observed. That is, breaking points later in the session increased over control levels, resulting in no change in the total number of food pellets earned for the session compared to control. The present findings suggest that the effects of some anorectic drugs depend upon the access conditions for food; increasing the effort to obtain food may enhance their ability to decrease food-maintained behavior.  (+info)

The metabolism, distribution and elimination of chlorphentermine in man. (7/42)

1 A gas-liquid chromatography procedure for the determination of chlorphentermine (I), N-hydroxychlorphentermine (II) and alpha,alpha-dimethyl-alpha-nitro-beta-(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (IV) in urine has been developed. Also methods are reported to determine conjugated II and the total N-oxidized metabolites of I, i.e. II, conjugated II, alpha,alpha-dimethyl-alpha-nitroso-beta-(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (III) and IV in urine. 2 The synthesis of alpha,alpha-dimethyl-alpha-nitroso-beta-(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (III) and its properties are reported. 3 The kinetics of urinary excretion of I and its metabolic products after the oral administration of I to a human subject on separate occasions have been studied. Under normal conditions of urinary pH, metabolism by N-oxidation was the main elimination route of I; acidifying the urine increased the urinary excretion of unchanged I at the expense of the N-oxidized products. 4 The importance of the N-oxidation metabolic route in the distribution of chlorphentermine (I) in man is discussed.  (+info)

Amphetamine analogs increase plasma serotonin: implications for cardiac and pulmonary disease. (8/42)

Elevations in plasma serotonin (5-HT) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiac and pulmonary disease. Normally, plasma 5-HT concentrations are kept low by transporter-mediated uptake of 5-HT into platelets and by metabolism to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). Many abused drugs (e.g., substituted amphetamines) and prescribed medications (e.g., fluoxetine) target 5-HT transporters and could thereby influence circulating 5-HT. We evaluated the effects of amphetamines analogs [(+/-)-fenfluramine, (+/-)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, (+)-methamphetamine, (+)-amphetamine, phentermine] on extracellular levels (i.e., plasma levels) of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in blood from catheterized rats. Effects of the 5-HT uptake blocker fluoxetine were examined for comparison. Drugs were tested in vivo and in vitro; plasma indoles were measured using a novel microdialysis method in whole blood. We found that baseline dialysate levels of 5-HT are approximately 0.22 nM, and amphetamine analogs evoke large dose-dependent increases in plasma 5-HT ranging from 4 to 20 nM. The ability of drugs to elevate plasma 5-HT is positively correlated with their potency as 5-HT transporter substrates. Fluoxetine produced small, but significant, increases in plasma 5-HT. Although the drug-evoked 5-HT concentrations are below the micromolar levels required for contraction of pulmonary arteries, they approach concentrations reported to stimulate mitogenesis in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Additional studies are needed to determine the effects of chronic administration of amphetamines on circulating 5-HT.  (+info)