Medical expert weighs in on new diet pill Qnexa

On Early Start, Dr. Louis Aronne, Director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, discusses the risks and benefits of the new diet pill Qnexa, which will likely receive FDA approval.

Aronne says, “The studies that were presented to the FDA were in more than 3,000 people and they showed that the average person lost about 10 percent of their body weight. That’s a really good result for medical treatment of obesity.”

CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin states, “But there are some risks…. I was reading risks to women who potentially want to have children and then also something about a risk to the heart.”

Aronne answers, “Only certain pharmacies will carry Qnexa and those pharmacists will be instructed who can get it and they wouldn’t give it to women who could potentially have a problem with it… As far as the heart issues are concerned, Qnexa lowers blood pressure and has many other potentially beneficial effects, but the FDA has recommended an outcome study where we look at how people do in the long run. Do they have heart attacks, strokes? That will be done once the drug is approved.”

Early Start with Ashleigh Banfield and Zoraida Sambolin airs week mornings from 5-7am ET on CNN.