Obesity drug may have killed 1,000

OBESITY DRUG MEDIATOR WAS WITHDRAWN FROM THE MARKET LAST NOVEMBER AFTER CONCERNS OVER HEART PROBLEMS AN anti-obesity drug has been blamed for up to 1,000 deaths after checks by the Caisse

nationale de l'assurance maladie (Cnam). Mediator, from pharmaceutical company Servier, was withdrawn from the market last November after concerns over heart problems. It was found to

cause weight loss after being used to help diabetics combat insulin resistance and was then used to control obesity. It was in use for 33 years. Latterly, it was selling seven million boxes

a year as an appetite-suppressant and it was being used by 300,000 people in France when it was withdrawn. Studies showed that its main component, benfluorex, could weaken heart valves and

also cause pulmonary arterial hypertension. Cnam was asked to examine its files and estimated that between 500 and 1,000 people may have died as a result of using the drug. One specialist,

Dr Irène Frachon from the CHU in Brest, told Le Figaro she regularly treated patients with serious heart problems who did not know about Mediator and its effects. She added that long-term

users should contact their doctor about a heart scan. Dr Frachon said the Cnam was funding scans for three years.