Effects on Weight Reduction and Safety of Short-Term Phentermine Administration in Korean Obese People

Abstract

The phentermine, an appetite suppressant, has been widely applied in Korea since 2004. However, there have been relatively few reports about the efficacy and the safety of phentermine in Korea. The aim of this study is to verify the effect of phentermine on weight reduction and the safety in Korean patients. This randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled study had been performed between February and July, 2005, in Seoul on 68 relatively healthy obese adults whose body mass index was 25 kg/m 2 or greater. They received phentermine-HCl 37.5 mg or placebo once daily with behavioral therapy for obesity. The primary endpoints were the changes of body weight and waist circumference from the baseline in the intention-to-treat population. Mean decrease of both body weight and waist circumference in phentermine-treated subjects were significantly greater than that of placebo group (weight: -6.7 ± 2.5 kg, p < 0.001; waist circumference: -6.2 ± 3.5 cm, p < 0.001). Significant number of subjects in phentermine group accomplished weight reduction of 5% or greater from the baseline and 10% or more (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between the groups (p = 0.122 for systolic BP; p = 0.219 for diastolic BP). Dry mouth and insomnia were the only statistically significant adverse events that occurred more frequently in phentermine group. Most side effects of phentermine were mild to moderate in intensity. Short-term phentermine administration induced significant weight reduction and reduction of waist circumference without clinically problematic adverse events on relatively healthy Korean obese people.

Anti-Obesity Therapy: from Rainbow Pills to Polyagonists

“…The drug stimulates primarily the release of norepinephrine, but to lower extent also dopamine and serotonine. Depending on the dose (which is typically between 30 and 37.5 mg/d) the placebo-subtracted weight loss attributed to treatment with phentermine (30 mg/d) is in the range of 4-8 kg after 12 weeks of treatment (Kim et al, 2006;Kang et al, 2010;Moldovan et al, 2016). Phentermine is generally well tolerated with little to no abusive potential, even when used chronically for up to 21 years (Hendricks et al, 2009).…”

Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Effects, Weight Loss and Maintenance During Long‐Term Phentermine Pharmacotherapy for Obesity

“…In contrast, data from early clinical trials either did not mention blood pressure changes (6), suggested a low occurrence of hypertension during phentermine pharmacotherapy (7), or showed significant reductions in blood pressure and HR (8). A recent phentermine clinical trial reported slight decreases in blood pressure but made no mention of HR (9). A 1‐ or 2‐year long clinical trial of phentermine monotherapy could provide the data needed to clarify the effect of phentermine monotherapy on blood pressure and HR but no such trial of phentermine has been conducted.…”

Postmarketing Surveillance Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Phentermine in Patients with Obesity

“…The most frequent AEs reported in this study included insomnia (11.0%) and dry mouth (5.6%). Some domestic studies have reported that dry mouth is the most commonly observed AE, while foreign studies often cite headache as the most common 12,14). Although pulmonary hypertension,15) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,16) and ischemic stroke have been reported as serious AEs following the administration of amphetamine-like analogues, such as phendimetrazine, these rare AEs were not reported in this study.…”