Dexfenfluramine, marketed as dexfenfluramine hydrochloride under the name Redux, is a

serotonergic Serotonergic () or serotoninergic () means "pertaining to or affecting serotonin". Serotonin is a neurotransmitter. A synapse In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chem ...

anorectic An anorectic or anorexic is a drug which reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. By contrast, an appetite stimulant is referred to as orexigenic. The term is (from the Greek ''ἀν-'' (an-) = "without" ...

drug: it reduces appetite by increasing the amount of extracellular serotonin in the brain. It is the d-

enantiomer In chemistry, an enantiomer ( /ɪˈnænti.əmər, ɛ-, -oʊ-/ ''ih-NAN-tee-ə-mər''; from Ancient Greek ἐνάντιος ''(enántios)'' 'opposite', and μέρος ''(méros)'' 'part') – also called optical isomer, antipode, or optical ant ...

fenfluramine Fenfluramine, sold under the brand name Fintepla, is a serotonergic medication used for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome and Lennox–Gastaut syndrome.https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2022/212102s003 ...

and is structurally similar to

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

, but lacks any psychologically stimulating effects. Dexfenfluramine was, for some years in the mid-1990s, approved by the United States

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

for the purposes of

weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other con ...

. However, following multiple concerns about the cardiovascular side-effects of the drug, the FDA withdrew the approval in 1997. After it was removed in the US, dexfenfluramine was also pulled out in other global markets. It was later superseded by

sibutramine Sibutramine, formerly sold under the brand name Meridia among others, is an appetite suppressant which has been discontinued in many countries. It works as a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor similar to a tricyclic antidepressant. Un ...

, which, although initially considered a safer alternative to both dexfenfluramine and

, was likewise removed from the US market in 2010. The drug was developed by Interneuron Pharmaceuticals, a company co-founded by

Richard Wurtman Richard Wurtman (March 9, 1936 – December 13, 2022) was an American neuroscientist who spent his career doing basic and translational neuroscience research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Early life and education Richard Wurtman ear ...

, aimed at marketing discoveries by

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

scientists. Interneuron licensed the patent to

Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories Wyeth, LLC was an American pharmaceutical company. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as ''John Wyeth and Brother''. It was later known, in the early 1930s, as American Home Products, before being renamed to Wyeth i ...

. Although at the time of its release, some optimism prevailed that it might herald a new approach, there remained some reservations amongst neurologists, twenty-two of whom petitioned the FDA to delay approval. Their concern was based on the work of

George A. Ricaurte George A. Ricaurte is a neurologist and researcher who works at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Department of Neurology. Biography Ricaurte received his MD from Northwestern University Medical School and his Ph.D. (Pharmacology) ...

, whose techniques and conclusions were later questioned.

References

External links

Drug description

* ttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/prescription/interviews/lutwak.html 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 The drug combination fenfluramine/phentermine, usually called fen-phen, was an anti-obesity treatment in the early 1990s that utilized two anorectics. Fenfluramine was marketed by American Home Products (later known as Wyeth) as ''Pondimin'', but ...

combination {{Phenethylamines 5-HT2B agonists Withdrawn drugs Serotonin receptor agonists Serotonin releasing agents Substituted amphetamines Enantiopure drugs Trifluoromethyl compounds Antiobesity drugs

See also

References

External links