Big money problems: Disease linked to fen-phen
Watch out for complications in patients who could be taking a popular weight-loss drug combination fenfluramine and phentermine, commonly dubbed fen-phen. They may not think it important enough to mention or may be embarrassed. Also look for interactions between fen-phen and serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac, Zoloft, or Effexor, or drugs for migraine therapy such as Imitrex or dihydroergotamine.
Mayo Clinic researchers in Rochester, MN, have discovered a possible association between valvular heart disease and concomitant use of the diet drug combination. Investigators reveal that 24 women, mean age 43, none of whom had heart disease, took the drugs for about a year. Valvular morphology and regurgitation developed in all 24, and eight had newly documented pulmonary hypertension.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory on fen-phen saying the two drugs were approved individually more than 20 years ago for single-drug, short-term obesity therapy in morbidly obese patients those overweight by at least 20% to 30% and that officials are unaware of studies demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of the products used in combination. An FDA spokesman says the agency is restricted in its ability to regulate the drug combination because such use was never approved.
Last year prescriptions for the combination exceeded 18 million per month. Despite the prescriptive for use by severely obese patients, aggressive, broad-based marketing made the fat fighter popular to people only mildly overweight, and many have taken the drugs for long periods.
The study is posted at Mayo Clinic’s web site, http://www.mayo.edu.
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