Physicians are cautiously optimistic about Meridia's effectiveness and safety. They're urging consumers not to jump on the bandwagon of the latest obesity drug. It's not for everyone, they say, and, because it's so new, the extent of long-term risk and benefit is still unknown. Class of drugs Meridia belongs to the same group of drugs as Redux and fenfluramine. SSRIs act on chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitters play a variety of roles in the body.
They help relay nerve impulses. They're also believed to be involved in regulating appetite. In working with SSRIs, physicians found that some of these drugs could help suppress appetite by acting on a neurotransmitter called serotonin. In addition, it was found that some SSRIs were better than others at appetite suppression. Mechanism of action With the fen-phen and Redux scares so recent, doctors have paid particular attention to how Meridia acts on serotonin.