the use of appetite suppressant drugs adversely affects the health of people, according to reports published in the uk and usa . Dexfenfluramine, a commonly prescribed dieting drug, boosts the levels of serotonin in brain and influences the neurotransmitter that carry chemical signals across the tiny gaps between one neurone to another. Serotonin is a compound in the blood serum that acts as a neurotransmitter. Dexfenfluramine is an improved version of a drug called fenfluramine, and has lesser side effects than fenfluramine.

Studies in animals show that fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine damage serotonin producing neurones, at doses as low as twice the dose needed to reduce weight. As these changes can be noticed only after the brain is dissected, it is not yet clear whether similar damages occur in the human brain. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration ( fda ), usa, has demanded further studies to check brain damages in people who take obesity drugs.

The Royal College of Physicians ( rcp ), London, recommends that appetite suppressant drugs should be prescribed as a last resort and only to patients who are clinically obese and respond rapidly to the drugs. The new guidelines have essentially been made to crack down on the inappropriate use of these drugs. The International Narcotic Control Board has sounded a special warning on the increasing abuse of these drugs especially fenfluramine because of their psycho-active side effects ( British Medical Journal Vol. 314 No. 7095).
The rcp' s report compiled by an expert working group concludes that the treatment with anti-obesity drugs is appropriate only for people with a body mass index greater than 30. People who fail to reduce their weight by 10 per cent after three months of determined effort