Unfortunately, it's all too clear there is a network of vested interests at work in these institutions. Even the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine was caught in an ethics crunch. The journal carried a major international study on fenfluramine risks, then nullified it immediately with a scathing editorial for which the authors' drug company affiliations were not disclosed. In the very next issue NEJM, which seldom carries much advertising, flashed a colorful Redux ad on two expensive pages. Paul Ernsberger and Lynn McAfee, consumer activists who testified at FDA hearings as an advisory panel approved dexfenfluramine by a close vote, question misinformation allowed to stand at the hearings.
Many health professionals worry about safety.
In the past we have often seen that such a statement means long-term results are not good not that the promoters don't have them. The FDA reports the estimated risk for adults using these drugs three months or longer is 23 to 46 cases each year per million, nearly half fatal in four years. Most will be healthy, relatively young women. Perhaps, but I'm hoping the people I know and care about, and their friends and relatives, will wait two or three years. At some time in the future, we likely will have safe and effective weight loss medications that work for most people.