Fen Phen

            The term Fen Phen is an abbreviation for the combination of two drugs, Fenfluramine, and Phentermine. These drugs alter the levels of seratonin in the brain, giving the user a sense of fullness, halting their desire to eat. There is much clinical evidence that suggests that Fenfluramine is responsible for primary pulmonary hypertension, heart valve problems, and neurotoxicity in the brain.

 The Diet Drug Disaster

              Before July 1997, the diet drug industry was buzzing with excitement. A new drug therapy promised to stop the desire for food at the very source of craving, altering the very chemistry of the brain. 

               It is estimated that in 1996 six million Americans took fen phen to treat weight problems, and in that year approximately 18 million prescriptions for the drug were written.

                On July 8th, 1997 the FDA, in conjunction with  a Mayo Clinic study, issued a warning about the evidence of heart valve problems associated with the use of the drug combination. In August of that year, the study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

                 In September of 1997, the drugs were withdrawn from the marketplace, amid reports of serious complications.