Table 3.
Profile of centrally acting anti-obesity products withdrawn because of associated deaths over the last 50 years
| Aminorex • First introduced in 1962 • Became available within 3 years of introduction as an over-the-counter weight loss pill • Between 1965 and 1972, there was an alarming increase in the incidence of primary pulmonary hypertension [52] • The pulmonary hypertension epidemic ended in 1972 following the withdrawal of aminorex from the market |
|
| Benfluorex • Approved in 1976 as an add-on treatment in obese patients with diabetes mellitus • Cases of valvulopathy attributed to its use began to appear from 2003 • Was withdrawn in 2009 following an epidemic of valvulopathy attributed to its use • Several deaths reported • To date, more than 3000 hospitalizations and at least 1300 deaths attributed to its use in France alone [53] |
|
| Fenfluramine • First approved in in 1973 • Reports of pulmonary hypertension first appeared in 1981 • Several other case reports subsequently published • Epidemiological studies showed an association between fenfluramine and pulmonary hypertension [54] • Withdrawn worldwide in 1997 |
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| Methamphetamine (desoxyephedrine) • First introduced in 1944 • Within 10 years of its introduction, cases of its misuse had been reported • By the early 1970s, reports of its abuse as an anorectic were reported [55] • Was withdrawn in the USA and other countries in 1973 • Several cases of cardiac abnormalities related to its abuse have subsequently been reported |
|
| Phentermine • First approved in 1959 • Several cases of lung phospholipidosis in animals and humans reported thereafter • Reports of death began to appear in 1974 [56] • Withdrawn from most countries where it was marketed in 1981 • Still available for short-term management of obesity in the USA |
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| Rimonabant • Approved in Europe in 2006 for obesity treatment • Within 1 year of approval, concerns were expressed about the risk of depression and suicide associated with its use [57] • Five deaths attributed to its use in the UK [58] • Was withdrawn in 2007 |
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| Sibutramine • Approved in 1997 in the USA and Europe in 2001 • Within a year of its European approval, serious cardiovascular adverse reactions were reported, resulting in temporary withdrawal in Italy [59] • Several cases of severe cardiovascular adverse reactions, including deaths, were subsequently reported [60] • Withdrawn in Europe and USA in 2010 |