Anorectic
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:''Note: "Anorectic" is also a term for an anorexic person; a person suffering from [[Anorexia nervosa]]''
'''Anorectics''', '''anorexigenics''' or '''appetite suppressants''' are substances ([[dietary supplement]]s or [[drug]]s) that reduce the [[appetite]] and cause a person to eat less.
The word "anorectic" comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''an''- = "without" and ''orexi''- = "appetite".
== Currently marketed appetite suppressant drugs ==
Numerous pharmaceutical compounds are marketed as appetite suppressants.
The following drugs listed as "centrally acting antiobesity preparations" by [[Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System|ATC]]:<ref>[http://www.whocc.no/atcddd/indexdatabase/index.php?query=A08AA ATC/DDD Index<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* [[Phentermine]] (Fastin, Adipex, Ionamin and others)
* [[Diethylpropion]] (Tenuate)
* [[Sibutramine]] (Meridia, Reductil)
* [[Rimonabant]] (Acomplia)
The following are listed as appetite depressants by [[MeSH]].<ref>{{MeshPharmaList|82001067}}</ref>
* [[benfluorex]]
* [[butenolide]]
* [[diethylpropion]]
* [[FG 7142]]
* [[norpseudoephedrine]]
* [[phenmetrazine]]
* [[phentermine]]
* [[phenylpropanolamine]]
* [[pyroglutamyl-histidyl-glycine]]
* [[sibutramine]]
Other compounds marked as appetite suppressants include:
* [[Phendimetrazine]] (Prelu-2, Bontril)
* [[Benzphetamine]] (Didrex)
* [[Oxyntomodulin]]
* [[Methylphenidate]] (Concerta) (Ritalin)
* [[Phenylethylamine]] (Trimspa)
== Public health concerns ==
[[Epidemic]]s of fatal [[pulmonary hypertension]] and [[heart valve]] damage associated with pharmaceutical anorectic agents have led to the withdrawal of products from the market. This was the case with [[aminorex]] in the 1960s, and again in the 1990s with [[fenfluramine]] (''see:'' [[Fen-phen]]).<ref>Fishman AP. ''Aminorex to Fen/Phen: An Epidemic Foretold''. Circulation 1999;99:156. [http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/99/1/156 Fulltext]. PMID 9884392</ref> Likewise, association of the related appetite suppressant [[phenylpropanolamine]] with [[bleeding|hemorrhagic]] [[stroke]] led the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) to request its withdrawal from the market in the [[United States]] in 2000, and similar concerns regarding [[ephedrine]] resulted in an FDA ban on its inclusion in dietary supplements, in 2004 (a Federal judge later overturned this ban in 2005 during a challenge by supplement maker Nutraceuticals.). It is also debatable as to whether the ephedrine ban had more to do with its use as a [[precursor (chemistry)|precursor]] in [[methamphetamine]] manufacture rather than legitimate health concerns.
== History and initial uses ==
Used on a short term basis clinically to treat [[obesity]], some appetite suppressants are also available [[Over-the-counter drug|over the counter]]. [[Medication|Drugs]] of this class are frequently [[stimulant]]s of the [[phenethylamine]] family, related to [[amphetamine]] (''speed'').
The [[Germany|German]] military experimented with issuing amphetamines to soldiers in 1945, when food supplies were very short in Germany. Following the [[Second World War]], amphetamines were re-directed for use on the civilian market. Indeed, amphetamine itself was sold commercially as an appetite suppressant until it was outlawed in most parts of the world in the late 1950s due to increased recreational use. Many [[amphetamine]]s produce side effects including [[addiction]], [[tachycardia]] and [[hypertension]], <ref>Abenhaim L, Moride Y, Brenot F, Rich S, Benichou J, Kurz X, Higenbottam T, Oakley C, Wouters E, Aubier M, Simonneau G, Begaud B. ''Appetite-Suppressant Drugs and the Risk of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension''. [[N Engl J Med]] 1996;335:609. [http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/335/9/609 Fulltext]. PMID 8692238</ref>making prolonged unsupervised use dangerous.
Many people who obtain these drugs are more interested in the amphetamine-like stimulant effects than weight loss. In those cases, it is important to make sure to keep forcing oneself to eat even when it is undesirable.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}{{Who|date=December 2007}}
== See also ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [[Amphetamine]]
* [[Khat]]
* [[Aminorex]]
* [[Appetite]]
* [[Cocaine]]
* [[Ephedrine]]
* [[Fen-phen]]
* [[Hunger]]
* [[Obesity]]
* [[Phenethylamine]]
* [[Stimulant]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/933126929.html Questions and Answers about appetite suppressant medication treatment] from the [[Medical College of Wisconsin]]
* {{MeshName|Anorectics}}
{{Antiobesity preparations}}
[[Category:Anorectics| ]]
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