Dexfenfluramine

Dexfenfluramine, formerly sold under the brand name Redux, is a serotonergic drug that was used as an appetite suppressant to promote weight loss.^[2] It is the d-enantiomer of fenfluramine and is structurally similar to amphetamine, but lacks any psychologically stimulating effects.

Dexfenfluramine was, for some years in the mid-1990s, approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the purposes of weight loss. However, following multiple concerns about its cardiovascular side effects,^[2] the FDA withdrew the approval in 1997.^[3] After it was removed in the US, dexfenfluramine was also pulled out in other global markets. It was later superseded by sibutramine, which, although initially considered a safer alternative to both dexfenfluramine and fenfluramine,^[4][5][6] was likewise removed from the US market in 2010.^[7][8]

The drug was developed by Interneuron Pharmaceuticals, a company co-founded by Richard Wurtman, aimed at marketing discoveries by Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists.^[9] Interneuron licensed the patent to Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories.^[10] Although at the time of its release, some optimism prevailed that it might herald a new approach,^[11] there remained some reservations amongst neurologists, twenty-two of whom petitioned the FDA to delay approval.^{[citation needed]} Their concern was based on the work of George A. Ricaurte, whose techniques and conclusions were later questioned.^[12]

See also

• Benfluorex
• Fenfluramine
• Levofenfluramine
• Norfenfluramine

References

1. ^ Anvisa (2023-07-24). "RDC Nº 804 - Listas de Substâncias Entorpecentes, Psicotrópicas, Precursoras e Outras sob Controle Especial" [Collegiate Board Resolution No. 804 - Lists of Narcotic, Psychotropic, Precursor, and Other Substances under Special Control] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Diário Oficial da União. Archived 2023-08-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
2. ^ Fox SI (2011). Human Physiology. Twelfth ed. McGraw Hill. p. 665.
3. ^ FDA 15 September 1997. FDA Announces Withdrawal Fenfluramine and Dexfenfluramine (Fen-Phen)
4. ^ "Dexfenfluramine". PubChem. U.S. Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
5. ^ Hanotin C, Thomas F, Jones SP, Leutenegger E, Drouin P (July 1998). "A comparison of sibutramine and dexfenfluramine in the treatment of obesity". Obesity Research. 6 (4): 285–291. doi:10.1002/j.1550-8528.1998.tb00351.x. PMID 9688105
6. ^ Lean ME (March 1997). "Sibutramine--a review of clinical efficacy". International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders. 21 (Suppl 1): S30–6; discussion 37–9. PMID 9130039
7. ^ "Abbott Pulls Diet Drug Meridia Off US Shelves". The Wall Street Journal. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010.
8. ^ Li MF, Cheung BM (February 2011). "Rise and fall of anti-obesity drugs". World Journal of Diabetes. 2 (2): 19–23. doi:10.4239/wjd.v2.i2.19. PMC 3083904. PMID 21537456
9. ^ Lemonick MD, Dowell W, Nash JM, Ramirez A, Reid B, Ressner J (23 September 1996). "The New Miracle Drug?". Time. Archived from the original on 2010-11-06. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
10. ^ Lemonick MD, Nash JM, Park A, Thompson D (29 September 1997). "The Mood Molecule". Time. Archived from the original on 2008-10-03. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
11. ^ Davis R, Faulds D (November 1996). "Dexfenfluramine. An updated review of its therapeutic use in the management of obesity". Drugs. 52 (5): 696–724. doi:10.2165/00003495-199652050-00007. PMID 9118819. S2CID 261029109
12. ^ Philipkoski K (2 March 2004). "DEA Accedes to Ecstasy Test". Wired. Archived 10 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine.

External links

• Drug description
• Dexfenfluramine hydrochloride
• Questions and Answers about Withdrawal of Fenfluramine (Pondimin) and Dexfenfluramine (Redux)
• Frontline: Dangerous prescriptions—Interview with Leo Lutwak, M.D. in which he discuses the side effects of fenfluramine, its successor Redux, and the Fen-Phen combination