Health :: science

HealthTwenty-five years ago, the great Athenian sophisticate Hippocrates believed that balance is health and that imbalance is the cause of all illness and pain. For more than three hundred years, this concept has been in disfavour. Now, clinical experiences with Phen/Fen suggest that Hippocrates was right. opus both phentermine and fenfluramine have been available since the mid-seventies, patients were generally reluctant to use them because of the always present fear of addiction. During many instances when people did try either one of these sunrise(prenominal) drugs, they could not tolerate the side effects. The pills in fact do work, because they trick the spirit into thinking that the stomach is full. But they also seem to affect the brain in other, less desirable ways. The thought process behind creating a superdrug such as Phen/Fen, was that by combining the twain medications, one could take favour of their different pharmacologic actions getting, in essence, better effe ctiveness while hopefully minimizing the mild side effects (Michael D. Myers. 1997). Despite the side effects that are lock up present, drug companies are making lots of money off of Phen/Fen. It is the second fastest growing drug in the country. In 1996, it earned about $191 one million million for its maker, Wyath-Ayerst (CNN. 1997). Obesity, poor nutrition, and inactivity are estimated to contribute to about 300,000 deaths a year (National Institution of Health. 1996), thus there is an increased demand for such pills as Phen/Fen. In this paper, I pass on discuss the two drugs that make up Phen/Fen, Fenfulramine and Phentermine, and discuss the side effects for each of the pills. I will introduce Serotonin and Dopamine, two of the brains neurotransmitters and the effect of Phen/Fen on them. I will also discuss who should and who shouldnt use this potentially dangerous diet. Finally, I will look at a case study from Michael D. Myers which makes some very important conclusions ab out the diet. Fenfluramine Fenfluramine was discovered at approximately the same time as its cousin, Phentermine. Fenfluramine has always been strongly associated with many side effects. The most prominent of its side effects is Primary Pulmonary Hypertension which is a vitality threatening complication (Michael D. Myers. 1997). An estimated 1 in 17,000 patients that are treated for longer than 3 months will develop this condition (New England Journal of Medicine. 1996). The symptoms may be swooning chest discomfort of development of an insidious feeling of shortness of breath (Abenhaim, L.