The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> MEDICINE >> NEWS
The Problem With Fen-Phen

MIT, Mass. College Of Pharmacy Researchers Say An Outdated Label May Have Led To A Toxic Combination Of Diet Drugs

PARIS--Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences (MCP/AHS) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers said today (Sept. 2) at the International Congress of Obesity that the diet drug duo known as "fen-phen" was potentially toxic because the two drugs taken together destroy the body's ability to control the amount of serotonin in blood plasma.

Too much serotonin damages blood vessels, particularly in the lungs, and may also harm heart valves. Such damage may have led to primary pulmonary hypertension and heart valve lesions in a small number of the millions of Americans who took the anti-obesity drug combination from 1992 until 1997, when one of the drugs, fenfluramine, was voluntarily withdrawn by its manufacturer. The other drug, phentermine, is still used to treat obesity. Because the two drugs were never in one pill, their use in combination didn't require U.S Food and Drug Administration approval.

The two drugs should never have been prescribed together, say researchers Timothy J. Maher, Sawyer Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and director of the Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences at MCP in Boston and lecturer in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences; visiting MIT scientist Dr. Ismail H. Ulus, professor of pharmacology at the University of Uludag in Bursa, Turkey; and Dr. Richard J. Wurtman, C. H. Green Distinguished Professor at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., and director of MIT's Clinical Research Center.

Because of omissions on drug labels, similarly dangerous side effects may result from pairing antidepressants such as Prozac with phentermine, as well as with over-the-counter cold remedies that contain ingredients such as pseudoephedrine (found in Sudafed), phenylpropanolamine (found in Accutrim) and ephedrine, the researchers
'"/>

Contact: Deborah Halber
dhalber@mit.edu
(617) 258-9276
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
28-Aug-1998


Page: 1 2 3 4 5

Related medicine news :

1. Problems in the bedroom can indicate heart problems
2. Problem gambling is a serious health issue
3. Problematic behaviour of dementing patients exacerbated
4. Problems controlling anger lead to weight gain for teens
5. Problem-solving training helps moms of kids with cancer
6. Biochemical Marker Targets Brain Injury Leading To Movement Problems After Stroke
7. Sexually Oriented Internet Sites Are Popular And Non-Problematic For Most People, But Pose Risks For Some
8. Early Dental Exams For Children Can Avert Problems Posed By Bottled Water And "Bottle Caries"
9. School Computer Posture Problems Found
10. Infants With Eye Problem Sought For NIH-Sponsored Study Of Congenital Esotropia
11. Parenting CD-ROM Helps Reduce Childrens Behavioral Problems

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: The Problem With Fen Phen

(Date:11/23/2009)... After suffering from women,s hair loss...rowing back and she,s sharing her progress and the... women through the release of her video diaries wh... and during her treatment. , ...r loss sufferer Zsanett Siklosi has released the ...
(Date:11/23/2009)...he-job interaction might ease the problem, researc...News) -- Men who bottle up their anger over unfair...a new Swedish study indicates. , Men who consis...flicts with a fellow worker or supervisor were mor...ie of heart disease as those who vented their ange...
(Date:11/23/2009)...O,Pa.,Nov.23/PRNewswire-FirstCall/--InfoLogix,Inc....risemobilitysolutionsforthehealthcareandcommercial...identofManagedServicesatSiemensHealthServices,hasj...Services. ,, (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-...entofStrategicHealthcareServicesforInfoLogix,Mr.Wa...
(Date:11/23/2009)...GTON,Nov.23/PRNewswire-USNewswire/--TheAmericanSoc...en,spublishing,education,andmediacompany,arelaunch...culumdesignedtosparkinterestinthefieldsofsciencean...reeropportunitiesinhematology. ,, "Manyhematolo...HemotheMagnificent,whichmadelearningaboutbloodreal...
(Date:11/23/2009)...rs of cancer patients and survivors treated with c...t often become chronic conditions, hindering patie...ists at the University of Rochester Medical Center...xperienced sleep troubles at nearly three times th...more prevalent in younger patients and those with ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Women's Hair Loss Treatment Results Captured on Video to Inspire Others 2Health News:Women's Hair Loss Treatment Results Captured on Video to Inspire Others 3Health News:Stifled Anger at Work Doubles Men's Risk for Heart Attack 2Health News:Stifled Anger at Work Doubles Men's Risk for Heart Attack 3Health News:Jim Way, Former Vice President at Siemens Health Services, Joins InfoLogix, Inc. as Vice President of Strategic Healthcare Services 2Health News:Jim Way, Former Vice President at Siemens Health Services, Joins InfoLogix, Inc. as Vice President of Strategic Healthcare Services 3Health News:New Science Program Teaches High School Students About Blood and Career Opportunities in the Field of Hematology 2Health News:New Science Program Teaches High School Students About Blood and Career Opportunities in the Field of Hematology 3Health News:Insomnia prevalent among cancer patients who receive chemotherapy 2
(Date:11/23/2009)...stCall/--AMICAS,Inc.(Nasdaq: AMCS ),aleaderinimage...atitwillhighlightitsenterpriseimagingautomationsol...SNA)annualmeetingfromNovember29toDecember4inChicag... (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/200602...nabouthealthcarereform,thereisanunprecedentedinter...
(Date:11/23/2009)...ePointMedicalannouncedtodaythatitreceivedEuropeanC...ralChronicTotalOcclusion(CTO)CrossingSystemcompris...ray®CTORe-EntrySystem.TheBridgePointSystemisa...vigatehighlydiseasedarteriesinpreparationforbloodf...NationalHeart,LungandBloodInstitute(NHLBI)estimate...
(Date:11/23/2009)...stCall/-- CumberlandPharmaceuticalsInc. (CPIX) to...evaluatingthesafetyandefficacyofCaldolor( ibuprofe...nts. ,, Statisticalsignificancewasachievedforth...hefirst24hoursoftreatment.Thestudyevaluated61adult...rethan10percenttotalbodysurfacearea.Otherparticipa...
Breaking Medicine Technology:AMICAS' Enterprise Imaging Solutions Highlighted at RSNA 2009 2AMICAS' Enterprise Imaging Solutions Highlighted at RSNA 2009 3BridgePoint Medical(R) Receives European CE Mark for Stingray(R) and CrossBoss(TM) for Opening Completely Blocked Arteries 2Caldolor(R) (Ibuprofen) Injection Demonstrates Significant Fever Reduction in Hospitalized Burn Patients 2Caldolor(R) (Ibuprofen) Injection Demonstrates Significant Fever Reduction in Hospitalized Burn Patients 3Dramatic Settlement Sets National Model for H1N1 Hospital Safety Measures 60497 1Dramatic Settlement Sets National Model for H1N1 Hospital Safety Measures 60497 2Dramatic Settlement Sets National Model for H1N1 Hospital Safety Measures 60497 3New Shire Board Member 14680 1New Shire Board Member 14680 2Nuevolution Announces Receipt of Milestone Payment From Merck 26amp 3B Co Inc 5896 1Nuevolution Announces Receipt of Milestone Payment From Merck 26amp 3B Co Inc 5896 2
Other News:
...ople in the UK are more likely to be admitted to h...ple, concludes a study published in this week's is...aries between countries and may vary between ethni...on ethnic variations in UK asthma frequency have b...
Molecule predicts colon cancer patient survival .........Harvard researchers have examined the factors that help spur the progression of colorectal cancer and identified the integrin [alpha]v[beta]6 a
...he Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami climbed above 20... just returned from Indonesia warned of a new dang... "We are seeing children petrified by seeing water...ing overhead because they sound like rushing water...
...enner Children's Hospital, part of Wake Forest Uni...ed to participate in the National Institutes of He...en's Hospital will join 10 other children's hospit...tients with heart defects......."This is a real ho...
health news:Hospital admissions for asthma more likely for ethnic minorities in the UK 2health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 2health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 3health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 4health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 5health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 6health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 7health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 8health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 9health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 10health news:JCI table of contents, January 20 2005 11health news:Mental health crisis looming for tsunami survivors, warns psychologist just back from Indonesia 2health news:Mental health crisis looming for tsunami survivors, warns psychologist just back from Indonesia 3
...On the hunt for a story idea? The American Journa... its "PreView" Web site to see abstracts of articl...bstracts are available at http://ajs.sagepub.com/p...s are published in the Journal....AJSM is the lead...
...Development of a transfusion-free surgical program...ransplantation also has helped reduce the overall ...undergoing the procedure, according to a study in ... the JAMA/Archives journals...."Orthotopic liver t...
...Patients with allergic rhinitis, such as that caus...ficulty sleeping and more sleep disorders than tho... September 18 issue of Archives of Internal Medici...hich occurs when pollen or other allergens irritat...
...Short or poor quality sleep is associated with red...icans with diabetes, report researchers from the U...of the Archives of Internal Medicine.... The findi...e health of patients with type 2 diabetes might be...
health news:Transfusion-free surgical program reduced use of blood products for all liver transplant patients 2health news:Allergic rhinitis associated with impaired sleep quality 2health news:Study adds to links between sleep loss and diabetes 2health news:Study adds to links between sleep loss and diabetes 3