Get the skinny on weight-loss drugs

Editor's note: This is the second story in a three-part series about obesity. This story focuses on weight-loss drugs.

Although names like fen-phen and Redux have been circulating throughout news headlines recently, many people are unaware of how these drugs affect the medical profession and the treatment of obesity.

Dr. Jan S. Ulbrecht, an endocrinologist in State College, prescribes Redux. The drug has opened up other options in the treatment of obesity, he said.

"The drugs have given us other options," he said. "Before these drugs there were not many choices."

Ulbrecht urges that these drugs be taken with care. And, he said, they have made the treatment of obesity easier.

The drugs can produce side effects, Ulbrecht warned, but to his knowledge the effects are not very serious.

Fen-phen and Redux aid in the treatment of obesity by working inside the brain. They interact with messages that "tell" a person whether or not they are hungry, in other words, they act as appetite suppressants.

These drugs are very new to the medical profession, Ulbrecht said, and not everything is known about them or how they work. Evidence shows that once a person begins to use these drugs, long-term or lifelong use is expected to keep the weight off.

The drugs are known not to be completely safe, he added, and may potentially cause fatal diseases.

Some of the side effects Ulbrecht mentioned include minor day-to-day occurrences such as headaches and anxiety. When prescribing drugs like fen-phen and Redux, Ulbrecht advises his patients to stop the medication if they begin to feel any unusual changes. Because there is so little known about these drugs, he said he did not know if there are side effects associated with day-to-day use of other medications.

Carrie Wharton, a student counselor with HealthWorks, said she thinks the use of these drugs is not such a good idea because there are still so many unknowns.

"There is information on them, but it is not necessarily that thorough, and there are side effects," she said. "Obesity shouldn't be treated with drugs because you can't stay on them forever."

However, Wharton also said these drugs could be a good way to start a pattern for a patient to lose weight. Unless one is highly motivated, she believes, the weight will come back. But the use of drugs like Redux -- the first diet pill to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 23 years -- could help them gain motivation.

Andrew Thomas, a pharmacist at McLanahan Drug Store, 116 W. College Ave., also believes Redux and fen-phen are safe as long as they are administered under a doctor's supervision.

"You have to take into consideration the patient's needs," he said. "If they are only 10 pounds overweight, the risks are too high to consider it, but if the patient has high blood pressure or heart disease, then the drugs are worth using."

McLanahan's fills about 20 prescriptions a week for both fen-phen and Redux, Thomas said.

Ulbrecht said he has guidelines for whom he will prescribe these drugs.

"In my mind, obesity must be disabling on a day-to-day basis in an older individual who by virtue of being older has other obesity-related medical conditions," he said.

When prescribing these drugs, he said, he exercises great caution in discussing the possible side effects and is very open when discussing the terms of the medication.