Fen-phen is short for the drugs fenfluramine and phentermine.
Both are appetite suppressants, but they work in different ways.
Starting in the 1950s, the drugs were separately approved as short-term (a few weeks) obesity treatments.
It would take until 1992 for most of this research to be published.
Once it was, other doctors soon adopted fen-phen as their obesity treatment of choice.
By the mid-1990s, as many as 18 million prescriptions for the two drugs were being doled out annually.
The very next year, however, these plans came to an abrupt halt.
Five of their patients needed valve repair surgery.
By that September, at the FDAs request, American Home Productspulledboth fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine off the market.
Theres limited data on just how many people might have been harmed by fen-phen.
Semaglutide mimics GLP-1, while tirzepatide mimics GLP-1 and the hormone GIP.
The cells that respond to these hormones are found both in the gut and brain.
Another difference between fen-phen and incretins is how these products reached the public.
And currently, the data is firmly in their favor.
Some early research has also suggested that GLP-1s can reduce cravings related toopioidsandalcoholand that they might even haveantidepressant effects.
That isnt to say that GLP-1s have no drawbacks.
Not every consequence tied to the emergence of GLP-1s is medical.
As a result, some people with diabetes have beenswitchedto other, possibly less effective drugs.
Though these versions might be cheaper upfront, they have no guarantee of safety or effectiveness.
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