Hormonal
Anti-obesity medications targeting monoamine neurotransmitters (re-uptake inhibitors and releasing agents) have a negative benefit-to-harm balance, leading to widespread post-marketing withdrawal due to cardiotoxicity, psychiatric disturbances, and drug abuse.
Avoid centrally acting anti-obesity medications that target monoamine neurotransmitters (e.g., amphetamines, SSRIs used for weight loss) due to high risks of heart problems, psychiatric issues, and addiction. These drugs have been largely withdrawn from the market for these reasons. Focus on diet and lifestyle changes instead, as pharmacological shortcuts have proven unsafe.
Most of the drugs that affect monoamine neurotransmitters licensed for the treatment of obesity over the past 65 years have been withdrawn because of adverse reactions. The reasons for withdrawal raise concerns about the wisdom of using pharmacological agents that target monoamine neurotransmitters in managing obesity.
Why this rating
Systematic review of withdrawal data, but the underlying evidence for withdrawal was often Level 4 (case reports) or Level 5 (mechanism-based reasoning).
Source
Post-marketing withdrawal of anti-obesity medicinal products because of adverse drug reactions: a systematic review
Igho Onakpoya et al. · BMC Medicine · 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12916-016-0735-y
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