fenfluramine

American  

[fen-floor-uh-meen] / fɛnˈflʊər əˌmin /

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 a sympathomimetic substance, C 12 H 16 F 3 N, formerly used mainly as an anorectic in the treatment of obesity but withdrawn from the market in 1997 because of its potential to cause valvular heart disease

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Etymology

Origin of fenfluramine

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

Example Sentences

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

The other two drugs commonly used in the treatment, fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine, were withdrawn from the marke t.

From New York Times

The company said some patients who were given low doses of the drug fenfluramine had no seizures for five years, and others went several years without experiencing one.

From Washington Times

Fenfluramine was sold for about 25 years in the U.S., but in 1997 it was taken off the market and its approval was withdrawn because it was linked to heart valve disease and other problems.

From Washington Times

Zogenix developed the painkiller Zohydro, but in April it sold the product to Pernix Therapeutics so it could focus on researching drugs that treat central nervous system disorders like its low-dose fenfluramine drug, or ZX008, and a once-per-month schizophrenia injection called Relday.

From Washington Times