fenfluramine

[ fen-floor-uh-meen ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. a sympathomimetic substance, C 12 H 16 F 3 N, formerly used mainly as an anorectic in the treatment of obesity but withdrawn from the market in 1997 because of its potential to cause valvular heart disease

Word History and Origins

Origin of fenfluramine¹

First recorded in 1965–70; by contraction, respelling and rearrangement of (trifluoromethyl)phenethylamine

Example Sentences

The ban was implemented in part because of concerns over the safety of weight-loss drugs at the time, such as the combination of fenfluramine and phentermine, or fen-phen, which was associated with life-threatening hypertension and heart valve issues.

From Scientific American

For example, the popular diet drug of the 1980s and 90s was fen-phen, which contained appetite suppressants fenfluramine and phentermine.

From Salon

In the late 1990s, “fen-phen” — a combination of fenfluramine and phentermine — was withdrawn after fenfluramine was linked to heart valve problems.

From Washington Post

A roster of onetime blockbuster medications now lives on in infamy: thalidomide, a morning sickness medication marketed to European women subsequently found to have caused thousands of horrific birth defects; fenfluramine, a popular weight loss medication prescribed to millions, eventually pulled from the market and subject to a $3.75 billion settlement for causing valvular heart disease; Vioxx, a massively distributed pain reliever that subsequently notched more than 55,000 alleged deaths from heart attack and stroke.

From Slate

In addition, they found that fenfluramine, a discontinued diet medication that releases serotonin but not dopamine, could mimic MDMA’s prosocial effects.

From Scientific American