July 9, 1997

/ADVANCE/ROCHESTER, Minn., July 8 /PRNewswire/ via Individual
Inc. Mayo Clinic today reports a clinical observation of
unusual
valvular heart disease in 24 patients who had taken the
weightloss
medications fenfluramine and phentermine (fenphen). Last year,
doctors
wrote a total of 18 million monthly prescriptions for these drugs.

"We recommend that patients who are currently taking or
considering
fenphen therapy discuss these findings with their physicians, who
can
help them weigh the benefits and risks of weight reduction
therapy,"
says Dr. Heidi Connolly, Mayo cardiologist and primary author of
the
paper.

"We believe that these cases raise significant concern that this
combination of appetite suppressants can have important
implications
regarding valvular heart disease," she continues, "but more
comprehensive study, which we are planning, is needed to make a
definitive statement about the association."

Physicians identified the patients in this report all women
with an
average of 43 years during routine medical visits. All 24
patients had
cardiovascular symptoms or a heart murmur. Subsequent testing
showed
that one or more heart valves in each patient was thickened and
blood
was regurgitating (or "leaking" backwards), making the heart work
harder
to pump blood throughout the body. Eight of the women had newly
documented pulmonary hypertension, a serious and sometimes fatal
disease of the heart and lungs. Five patients needed heart surgery
to
repair or replace damaged valves. No patients in the report have
died to
date.

"We don't know how fenphen may cause injury to the heart valves,"
says Dr. Connolly. "We do know that fenfluramine and phentermine
alter the way the brain chemical serotonin is metabolized, and
serotonin
that circulates in the blood can cause valve injury. Again, more
study is
needed to identify mechanisms and risk factors."

The 24 women in this report, who had used fenphen for an average
of
one year, had been free of heart disease when they began taking
these
weightloss medications.

Physicians and surgeons at Mayo noted the first case of valvular
heart
disease following fenphen therapy about a year ago. Since then,
Mayo
physicians and Dr. Jack Crary, a cardiologist at MeritCare, in
Fargo,
N.D., have identified an increasing number of patients with
similar
problems, which led to this report.

"We began to notice that otherwise healthy young women, presenting
with this unusual form of valve disease, were also on fenphen,"
Dr.
Connolly added. "This caused us to further evaluate the possible
correlation between fenphen and valve disease."

Mayo is a private group practice of medicine dedicated to
providing
diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses through a systematic
focus
on individual patient needs. Mayo provides comprehensive hospital
and
outpatient services at each of its major locations Rochester,
Minn.;
Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale, Ariz. At each site, clinical
practice is
closely integrated with advanced education and research programs.
Mayo
also provides care through affiliated practices in Arizona,
Florida,
Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Mayo is an affirmative
action
and equal opportunity educator and employer.

SOURCE Mayo Foundation

/CONTACT: Shelly Plutowski of Mayo Clinic, 5072842417 (days), or
5072842511 (evenings), Email: newsbureau@mayo.edu/

[Copyright 1997, PR Newswire]


Jim Katz
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