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Anti-Obesity Drugs
Medications to Decrease Appetite and Reduce Calorie / Fat Absorption
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Anti-Obesity Drugs

There are two main types of anti-obesity weight loss drugs - medications that decrease appetite and drugs that inhibit absorption of nutrients from the intestines.

Examples of weight loss drugs that decrease appetite include fenfluramine (Pondimin), dexfenfluramine (Redux), and phentermine (Fastin, Adipex-P).

Orlistat (Xenical) is an example of weight loss drugs that inhibit intestinal fat absorption.

Feeling of hunger and fullness (satiety) are regulated by brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Examples of neurotransmitters include serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Anti-obesity medications that suppress appetite do so by increasing the level of these neurotransmitters at the junction (called synapse) between nerve endings in the brain.

Fenfluramine (the fen of fen/phen) and dexfenfluramine (Redux) suppress appetite mainly by increasing release of serotonin by the cells. Unfortunately, both fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine were withdrawn from the market in Sept,1997 because of association of these two medications with pulmonary hypertension (a rare but serious disease of the arteries in the lungs), and association of fen/phen with damage to the heart valves.

Phentermine (the other half of fen/phen) suppresses appetite by causing release of norepinephrine by the cells. Phentermine alone is still available for treatment of obesity, but only on a short term basis (a few weeks). The common side effects of phentermine include headache, insomnia, irritability and nervousness. Since the withdrawal of fenfluramine, some have suggested combining phentermine with fluoxetine (Prozac) - a combination that has been referred to as phen/pro. However, no clinical trials have been conducted to confirm the safety and effectiveness of this combination. Therefore, this combination is not an accepted treatment for obesity.

Source: www.medicinenet.com 2002