Fatal heat-stroke in a child taking appetite-suppressant drugs.

An 11-year-old girl who was taking two appetite-suppressant agents as part of a weight-reducing regimen developed heat-stroke while taking part in a 'nature hike' at an ambient temperature of 34 degrees C. The other 107 participating children suffered no significant ill-effects. Sympathomimetic amines used as appetite suppressants can produce heat intolerance by two mechanisms: they increase endogenous heat production as a result of their stimulatory effects on the central nervous system, and they impede the dissipation of heat from the body by producing peripheral vasoconstriction.