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Revista Da Associacao Medica Brasileira... Mar 2017Antiobesity pharmacotherapy remains the main point of disagreement among both scientists and regulators. This is probably due to small sample sizes, high levels of...
Antiobesity pharmacotherapy remains the main point of disagreement among both scientists and regulators. This is probably due to small sample sizes, high levels of heterogeneity, and low methodological quality. For many years, Brazil was one of the largest consumers of appetite suppressants worldwide, with evidence of irrational use of this drug class. Therefore, the country was the scene of a debate that divided the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa - Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária) and medical societies over the maintenance record of diethylpropion, mazindol and fenproporex. In this context, this commentary presents new arguments to contribute to the discussion, as well as recommendations for future studies.
Topics: Amphetamines; Appetite Depressants; Brazil; Cyclobutanes; Diethylpropion; Drug Approval; Humans; Mazindol; Obesity; Risk Assessment; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 28489121
DOI: 10.1590/1806-9282.63.03.203 -
The European Respiratory Journal Jun 2016Treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been underpinned by single-agent therapy to which concomitant drugs are added sequentially when pre-defined...
Treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been underpinned by single-agent therapy to which concomitant drugs are added sequentially when pre-defined treatment goals are not met.This retrospective analysis of real-world clinical data in 97 patients with newly diagnosed PAH (86% in New York Heart Association functional class III-IV) explored initial dual oral combination treatment with bosentan plus sildenafil (n=61), bosentan plus tadalafil (n=17), ambrisentan plus tadalafil (n=11) or ambrisentan plus sildenafil (n=8).All regimens were associated with significant improvements in functional class, exercise capacity, dyspnoea and haemodynamic indices after 4 months of therapy. Over a median follow-up period of 30 months, 75 (82%) patients were still alive, 53 (71%) of whom received only dual oral combination therapy. Overall survival rates were 97%, 94% and 83% at 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively, and 96%, 94% and 84%, respectively, for the patients with idiopathic PAH, heritable PAH and anorexigen-induced PAH. Expected survival rates calculated from the French equation for the latter were 86%, 75% and 66% at 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively.Initial combination of oral PAH-targeted medications may offer clinical benefits, especially in PAH patients with severe haemodynamic impairment.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Antihypertensive Agents; Bosentan; Diethylpropion; Drug Therapy, Combination; Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Hemodynamics; Humans; Hypertension, Pulmonary; Male; Middle Aged; Patient Safety; Phenylpropionates; Pyridazines; Retrospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Sildenafil Citrate; Sulfonamides; Tadalafil; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 26989105
DOI: 10.1183/13993003.02043-2015 -
Journal of Neurophysiology Jul 2015Obesity is a worldwide health problem that has reached epidemic proportions. To ameliorate this problem, one approach is the use of appetite suppressants. These...
Obesity is a worldwide health problem that has reached epidemic proportions. To ameliorate this problem, one approach is the use of appetite suppressants. These compounds are frequently amphetamine congeners such as diethylpropion (DEP), phentermine (PHEN), and bupropion (BUP), whose effects are mediated through serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopaminergic pathways. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell receives dopaminergic inputs and is involved in feeding and motor activity. However, little is known about how appetite suppressants modulate its activity. Therefore, we characterized behavioral and neuronal NAc shell responses to short-term treatments of DEP, PHEN, and BUP. These compounds caused a transient decrease in weight and food intake while increasing locomotion, stereotypy, and insomnia. They evoked a large inhibitory imbalance in NAc shell spiking activity that correlated with the onset of locomotion and stereotypy. Analysis of the local field potentials (LFPs) showed that all three drugs modulated beta, theta, and delta oscillations. These oscillations do not reflect an aversive-malaise brain state, as ascertained from taste aversion experiments, but tracked both the initial decrease in weight and food intake and the subsequent tolerance to these drugs. Importantly, the appetite suppressant-induced weight loss and locomotion were markedly reduced by intragastric (and intra-NAc shell) infusions of dopamine antagonists SCH-23390 (D1 receptor) or raclopride (D2 receptor). Furthermore, both antagonists attenuated appetite suppressant-induced LFP oscillations and partially restored the imbalance in NAc shell activity. These data reveal that appetite suppressant-induced behavioral and neuronal activity recorded in the NAc shell depend, to various extents, on dopaminergic activation and thus point to an important role for D1/D2-like receptors (in the NAc shell) in the mechanism of action for these anorexic compounds.
Topics: Action Potentials; Animals; Appetite Depressants; Benzazepines; Bupropion; Diethylpropion; Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists; Drug Interactions; Eating; Locomotion; Male; Nucleus Accumbens; Phentermine; Raclopride; Random Allocation; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Dopamine D1; Receptors, Dopamine D2; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Stereotyped Behavior; Weight Loss
PubMed: 25972577
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00012.2015 -
Case Reports in Endocrinology 2015Obesity is common in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Amphetamine-like analogues comprise the most popular class of weight loss medications. We present a case...
Obesity is common in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Amphetamine-like analogues comprise the most popular class of weight loss medications. We present a case of a 34-year-old African American female with a history of type 1 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity who developed diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) after starting Diethylpropion for the purpose of weight loss. Shortly after starting Diethylpropion, she developed nausea, vomiting, and periumbilical pain. Blood work revealed glucose of 718 mg/dL, pH 7.32 (7.35-7.45), bicarbonate 16 mmol/L (22-29 mmol/L), and anion gap 19 mmol/L (8-16 mmol/L). Urine analysis demonstrated large amount of ketones. She was hospitalized and successfully treated for DKA. Diethylpropion was discontinued. Amphetamine-like analogues administration leads to norepinephrine release from the lateral hypothalamus which results in the appetite suppression. Peripheral norepinephrine concentration rises as well. Norepinephrine stimulates adipocyte lipolysis and thereby increases nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) availability. It promotes β-oxidation of NEFA to ketone bodies while decreasing metabolic clearance rate of ketones. In the setting of acute insulin deficiency these effects are augmented. Females are more sensitive to norepinephrine effects compared to males. In conclusion, amphetamine-like analogues lead to a release of norepinephrine which can result in a clinically significant ketosis, especially in the setting of insulin deficiency.
PubMed: 25960894
DOI: 10.1155/2015/917869 -
Brazilian Journal of Medical and... Jun 2015Amfepramone (diethylpropion) is an appetite-suppressant drug used for the treatment of overweight and obesity. It has been suggested that the systemic and central...
Amfepramone (diethylpropion) is an appetite-suppressant drug used for the treatment of overweight and obesity. It has been suggested that the systemic and central activity of amfepramone produces cardiovascular effects such as transient ischemic attacks and primary pulmonary hypertension. However, it is not known whether amfepramone produces immediate vascular effects when applied in vitro to rat aortic rings and, if so, what mechanisms may be involved. We analyzed the effect of amfepramone on phenylephrine-precontracted rat aortic rings with or without endothelium and the influence of inhibitors or blockers on this effect. Amfepramone produced a concentration-dependent vasorelaxation in phenylephrine-precontracted rat aortic rings that was not affected by the vehicle, atropine, 4-AP, glibenclamide, indomethacin, clotrimazole, or cycloheximide. The vasorelaxant effect of amfepramone was significantly attenuated by NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and tetraethylammonium (TEA), and was blocked by removal of the vascular endothelium. These results suggest that amfepramone had a direct vasorelaxant effect on phenylephrine-precontracted rat aortic rings, and that inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and the opening of Ca2+-activated K+ channels were involved in this effect.
Topics: Acetylcholine; Animals; Aorta, Thoracic; Appetite Depressants; Calcium Channels; Diethylpropion; Endothelium, Vascular; Male; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Phenylephrine; Potassium Channels; Rats, Wistar; Tetraethylammonium; Vasoconstrictor Agents; Vasodilation; Vasodilator Agents
PubMed: 25831200
DOI: 10.1590/1414-431X20144261 -
Journal of Menopausal Medicine Dec 2014Obesity is an important risk factor for metabolic disease and various cancers. Treatments of obesity include lifestyle intervention, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric... (Review)
Review
Obesity is an important risk factor for metabolic disease and various cancers. Treatments of obesity include lifestyle intervention, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery. If weight loss with lifestyle intervention is only modest, pharmacotherapy might be needed. Pharmacotherapy agents can be grouped by treatment period as short term or long term use agent. Several sympathomimetic drugs such as benzphetamine, diethylpropion, phendimetrazine and phentermine, are approved for short term treatment due to their safety issues. For long term treatment, orlistat, lorcaserin, and combination of phentermine/topiramate are approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Orlistat partially blocks intestinal digestion of fat, therefore producing weight loss. Lorcaserin is a serotonin 2C receptor agonist. The combination of phentermine/topiramate produces a mean weight loss of 8-10 kg. Side effects of each drug are quite different. For obesity patient, side effects are important factor when choosing drugs. The goal of this article is to review currently available anti-obesity drugs.
PubMed: 25580419
DOI: 10.6118/jmm.2014.20.3.90 -
Value in Health : the Journal of the... Nov 2014
PubMed: 27201685
DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2014.08.1689