RUTHIE MAREK/UCLA Today

David Heber has been in the eye of the storm since September, when the weight-loss drugs Pondimin and Redux were withdrawn from the market by their manufacturer as a result of a reported association with heart abnormalities.

As director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, he has been fielding calls from both the media and from patients anxious about the potential health implications. And last week, the FDA approved a new weight-loss drug, Meridia, and Heber’s phone has again been ringing non-stop.

"With more than 58 million overweight Americans and roughly 300,000 deaths attributed to obesity each year, it’s imperative that safe and effective weight-loss drugs be available for this population," said Heber, who treats more than 50 new overweight patients at his clinic each month.

A lead investigator for the national Meridia trials and principal investigator of the year-long study conducted at UCLA, Heber believes Meridia will be an effective tool in the fight to shed pounds -- provided patients follow a multidimensional program of healthy eating and physical activity.

"I believe the key factor to Meridia’s success as an appetite suppressant will be the completion of a mandatory physician-patient education program," he said. "This integrative approach will involve physicians at every level of care including diet, exercise and lifestyle change, who will use Meridia only in the setting of such comprehensive multi-modal care."

He noted that Meridia is intended for the clinically obese patient, "not for someone who just wants to lose 10 pounds to fit into a bathing suit."

Unlike the Fen-Phen combination and Redux, Meridia has not been identified with either pulmonary hypertension or the purported cardiac-valve disease associated with Fen-Phen, added Heber.

The new compound known as sibutramine -- Meridia is the brand name -- is a neurotransmitter re-uptake inhibitor, or a drug that prevents naturally produced serotonin from being reabsorbed quickly into the brain. Meridia "tells" our brains that our stomachs are fuller longer.

More than 20 patients participated in the clinical trial at UCLA, which specifically examined the effects of Meridia on abdominal fat loss. Since the study has not yet been published, Heber cannot discuss the details of his results. However, his overall impression of the drug’s effectiveness, compared to earlier weight-loss drugs, is quite positive.

"Meridia can cause mild hypertension, but once doctors learn how to use this drug together with diet, they will be able to manage this side effect. In fact, patients with high blood pressure will benefit from Meridia," Heber said.

Heber views obesity as the most important nutritional disorder in the country today, but cautions there will never be a single cure-all. Instead, he believes a collection of approaches for different patients must be individualized.

"Meridia gives doctors a much needed tool to help them fight this important disease," he said.