Pharmacotherapies for Obesity: Past, Current, and Future Therapies

Table 1

Drugs used for weight loss in obesity.

Drug	Introduced	Mechanism of action	Status
Dinitrophenol	1930s	Increases metabolic rate	Withdrawn—risk of neuropathy and cataracts
Amphetamines: dexamphetamine, methamphetamine	1936	Appetite suppression	Banned, restricted or discouraged—dependency and abuse potential, cardiovascular adverse effects
Amphetamine-like analogues: Phentermine, diethylpropion, phenylpropanolamine	1959-US	Appetite suppression	Diethylpropion—available for short-term use (≤12 weeks)
			Phentermine—available for short-term use (≤12 weeks) in some countries, withdrawn 2000 (UK)
			Phenylpropanolamine-withdrawn 2000—increased risk haemorrhagic stroke
Aminorex	1965	Appetite suppression	Withdrawn 1968—pulmonary hypertension
Mazindol	1970s	Appetite suppression	Discontinued 1993—Australia
Fenfluramine	1963-Europe 1973-US	Appetite suppression	Withdrawn 1997—valvular heart disease, pulmonary hypertension
Dexfenfluramine	1985-Europe 1996-US	Appetite suppression	Withdrawn 1997—valvular heart disease, pulmonary hypertension
Orlistat	1998-Europe and US	Decreased fat absorption	Also available over-the-counter in several countries
Sibutramine	1997-US 2001-Europe	Appetite suppression	Temporarily withdrawn 2002 Italy-concerns of raised risk of heart attacks and strokes
			Increase in contraindications 2010-US, Australia
			Suspension of market authorization 2010
Rimonabant	2006-Europe		Withdrawn 2009—potential of serious psychiatric disorders