Recently, the Ozempic has been controversial. Indeed, this medicine for diabetics was praised on social networks for its slimming properties. A new drug has just appeared on the networks: le périactine. This time, the goal of this new treatment advocated by influencers is not to lose weight, but on the contrary to make you gain weight.
Indeed, some women who find themselves too thin turn to this treatment in order to take shape, especially on the buttocks. But what is this drug and why are health authorities so concerned about it?
Periactin: an antiallergic drug available over the counter
If it is available over the counter and at low cost (less than 10 euros), periactin is not necessarily a dietary supplement. This is a antiallergic drug produced by the Teofarma laboratory. Lately, many influencers have been promoting it on TikTok. In these videos, Internet users praise its use in order to have “the same body as Kim Kardashian”. Thus, many women who find themselves too thin take it in order to gain weight and shape, especially on the buttocks. But what does this treatment contain?
A molecule that causes hunger
Periactin contains la cyproheptadine. This molecule is an antihistamine not subject to mandatory medical prescription, marketed in 1974. It has the effect of induce hunger, and therefore to make you fat. The medicine was prescribed to stimulate the appetite until 1994 before being withdrawn from the market because the benefit/risk balance was judged to be poor. Dr. Laurent Chouchana, in charge of the pharmacovigilance of this molecule and member of the SFPT (French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics), explains to the media South West than cyproheptadine: “Has been overtaken by much more efficient molecules and is no longer prescribed.“
Cyproheptadine: health authorities warn of the risks
With AFP, the Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) entrusts not measuring an increase in sales. However, the organization indicates that it analyzes the situation before possibly initiate “graduated actions” to curb this trend. A year ago, the ANSM had already alerted health professionals to its use “non-compliant and potentially dangerous“. Dr. Chouchana’s team had notably raised the situation: “We discovered sorcerer’s apprentices who were making incredible medical prescriptions in order to look like reality TV star Kim Kardashian, bordering on the illegal practice of medicine.”
Indeed, this molecule can cause many undesirable effects such as drowsiness, convulsions or hallucinations. In high doses, it can also lead to more serious problems from a neurological, psychiatric, cardiac, hematological or digestive point of view.
In a press release published at the end of March, the French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (SFPT) alerted to this phenomenon. “The benefit/risk ratio of cyproheptadine should be reassessed with a view to withdrawing its marketing authorization or at least its inclusion on a mandatory prescription list“, estimates the SFPT. Whether it is Ozempic, which aims to lose weight, or Periactine, which aims to gain weight, molecules that act on weight are currently closely monitored.