Effect of 6 months therapy with dexfenfluramine in obese patients: studies in the United Kingdom.

The efficacy of dexfenfluramine in inducing weight loss and its clinical acceptability were assessed in two studies carried out in a hospital obesity clinic and general practitioner's office. Seventeen patients who had gained an average of 0.7 +/- 1.9 kg during 12 weeks treatment with diet and placebo lost a mean of 2.9 +/- 0.5 kg after 12 weeks sequential treatment with dexfenfluramine 15 mg twice daily (p less than 0.001). In a second trial, 29 patients treated for 24 weeks with dexfenfluramine showed significantly increased, and continuing, weight loss after 24 weeks (7.0 +/- 0.8 kg) compared to that after 12 weeks of treatment (5.7 +/- 0.1 kg; p = 0.05). The incidence of side effects in both trials was lower than that reported in previous studies of racemic dl-fenfluramine. The clinically significant weight loss and low incidence of unwanted effects suggest that dexfenfluramine has a role in the treatment of refractory obesity.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes