The cycle continues: Weight-loss med comes out. People freak out and get excited about being thin. They take it and some lose weight. Success stories in the press stoke the excitement. Sales soar. THEN: it comes out that something terrible is happening to people taking the drug. FDA gets pissed. Nightmare scenarios in the press stoke fear. Sales decline. Drug (sometimes) is discontinued.

I think we're at the beginning of that cycle -- or some variation on it -- with the new weight-loss drug Acomplia. The European analog to the FDA has concerns that Acomplia increases the risk of psychiatric symptoms and suicide risk in people who take it, particularly if those people suffer from major depression prior to taking it. When the drug was approved for use in Europe in 2006, depression was the most problematic side effect.

EU Warns of Sanofi Drug