Preliminary assessment of flutiorex, a new anorectic drug, in man.

1 The effects of +/--flutiorex, a new anorectic agent, on food intake, the sympathetic nervous system and the central nervous system were compared to those of fenfluramine and a placebo in a double-blind trial involving six healthy volunteers. 2. Flutiorex exerts a singificant anorectic effect and was shown to be approximately twice as potent as fenfluramine in this regard. 3 Flutiorex induces a definite alpha-adrenergic sympathomimetic stimulation as was shown by a rise in systolic blood pressure and the development of marked mydriasis. 4 Flutiorex is a central nervous system stimulant producing an increase in critical flicker frequency. It does not, however, influence psychomotor coordination as reflected in the pursuit rotor test. 5 Serial determinations of blood and urine levels of flutiorex and its deethylated metabolite, norflutiorex, showed that flutiorex is rapidly absorbed and deethylated, accumulates in large quantities in the tissues and, like its metabolite, is excreted in the urine in very small quantities. Blood levels of norflutiorex appear to remain elevated longer than those fo flutiorex.