Enhancement of the thermic effect of food by d-fenfluramine.
Following approximately a week of daily ingestion of fenfluramine, the body weight of female rats is reduced and remains chronically suppressed for as long as treatment is continued. This chronic suppression of body weight by fenfluramine cannot be explained by the anorectic effects of fenfluramine, since food intake returns to normal after about a week. Part of this chronic suppression of body weight lies in the ability of fenfluramine to enhance the thermic effect of food. Fenfluramine ingested by a fasted rat causes no change in metabolic rate. However, following the ingestion of the meal consisting of mixed nutrients or only carbohydrates, the thermic effect of the food is significantly greater than that of the meal without fenfluramine. A similar observation was observed in humans. These observations when combined with the negligible effects of dieting as a means of controlling body weight, argue for the chronic use of fenfluramine as a therapeutic technique to produce sustained weight loss in humans.
Levitsky
D A
DA
Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
Stallone
D
D
D000818:Animals; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005277:Fenfluramine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats
D005277:Fenfluramine