¹Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4235, USA

²Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 179 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA

Correspondence to: Paul J Wellman, Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4235, USA.pjw@psyc.tamu.edu

'Fen-phen' refers to the off-label combination of the appetite suppressants fenfluramine and phentermine. The rationale for the fen-phen combination was that the two drugs exerted independent actions on brain satiety mechanisms so that it was possible to use lower doses of each drug and yet retain a common action on suppressing appetite while minimizing adverse drug effects. The focus of the present review is to consider whether fenfluramine and phentermine exert actions that are additive in nature or whether these two drugs exhibit drug-drug synergism. The fen-phen combination results in synergism for the suppression of appetite and body weight, the reduction of brain serotonin levels, pulmonary vasoconstriction and valve disease. Fen-phen synergism may reflect changes in the pharmacokinetics of drug distribution, common actions on membrane ion currents, or interactions between neuronal release and reuptake mechanisms with MAO-mediated transmitter degradation. The synergism between fenfluramine and phentermine highlights the need to more completely understand the pharmacology and neurochemistry of appetite suppressants prior to use in combination pharmacotherapy for the treatment of obesity.

monoamine oxidase inhibitors; serotonin; drug-drug interactions; isobologram