減肥藥致人死亡 名爲"奇蹟"實爲毒藥

A 'miracle' slimming pill may have killed thousands of people in France and could become the worst health scandal in the nation's history. The drug Mediator was prescribed to up five million people, originally to overweight diabetes sufferers, from its launch in 1979 until it was banned last year. And for 30 years it was also used as an appetite-suppressing drug by thousands of healthy men and women, with its cost even subsidised by the French healthcare system.
　　在流行“越瘦越美麗”的年代，花樣翻新的減肥藥成了無數少女們變美的捷徑。近日，一種由賽爾維公司製造的供糖尿病患者使用的名爲“奇蹟”的減肥藥因已導致500人死亡，並殃及潛在上百萬糖尿病患者的健康，成爲民衆的“頭號公敵”。據悉，自減肥藥1979年上市以來，投入市場的時間長達30年，時間跨度之大令人震驚。這種減肥藥因針對糖尿病患者投入市場，之後因食用後會產生不同程度“厭食”效果，而收到上萬男女熱捧。近日，法國藥品安全監管機構15日正式對該藥發出“禁令”。

（圖片來源於網絡）

But a forthcoming official report is now warning that it may be linked to the deaths of up to 2,000 people and caused heart problems in 3,500 more. Paris government scientists claim the active ingredient in Mediator, called benflourex, could have caused thickening of the heart valves, fatigue, breathlessness - and had no effect at all on weight loss. Politicians and successive health ministers are now under pressure to answer why they ignored repeated warning from experts that the drug could be highly dangerous.

有數據顯示，該減肥藥的一種活性成分苯氟雷斯(benfluorex會)引起的心臟瓣膜增厚、呼吸困難而致病患死亡，恐怕是造成2000患者死亡的部分原因，同時專家擔心該藥會引起更多患者心臟的不適。專家稱，這種所謂的減肥藥除了對心臟造成不可修復性損害對“減輕體重”絲毫沒有作用。由於投入市場時間過長，同時該藥的危險性一直沒有公之於衆，法國衛生當局長期以來一直未能重視有關禁止該藥的呼籲。這個“重大失職”讓法國藥品安全監管機構日前受到“前所未有”數量的質疑。

Mr Bertrand has now announced: 'Our message to all those who took Mediator is that they must see a doctor - particularly those who took it for three months over the past four years.'

此外，法國新任衛生部長克薩維埃-貝爾特朗在應對媒體召開的發佈會上建議但凡使用過藥物的患者儘快去醫院做體檢，他說：“特別是近4年來，已經使用該藥3個月或3個月以上的患者，最好去醫院檢查。”他在就任新職數小時後稱：“我們將要求衛生部門聯絡所有相關病人。”