1. a prescription medication formerly used as an appetite suppressant for weight loss, withdrawn from the market in 1997 due to safety concerns.
Usage: pharmaceutical/medical term; historical; no longer in common use; often referred to as part of the 'fen-phen' combination drug

Examples

• Dexfenfluramine was prescribed to patients struggling with obesity in the 1990s.
• The FDA removed dexfenfluramine from the market after reports of heart valve problems.
• Many people who took dexfenfluramine as part of fen-phen later filed lawsuits.
• Dexfenfluramine represented an earlier approach to pharmaceutical weight management.
• Doctors stopped prescribing dexfenfluramine once its cardiovascular risks became apparent.