New research shows fear over the fen phen diet may have been unfounded. A longer, more in-depth study of the controversial drug cocktail now shows the risk of heart valve damage was NOT that high. Science Specialist Ed Yeates says some Utah physicians are not surprised.

Kathy Schneider was among many patients angered when fen phen was pulled from the market last year. For her, obesity was not a state of mind but a biological condition which was ruining her knees.

Last year a federal study said heart valve damage could occur in as many as 30 percent of fen phen users. But this latest study, which looked at more patients says the heart valve risk was exaggerated.

Physicians who doubted the high risk numbers even from the beginning are those who are members of the prestigious American Society of Bariatrics. Bariatrics is the medicial discipline which handles weight management. Utah family physician - Dr. David Jack.

David Jack, m.d., American Society of Bariatrics: "The danger of the obesity outweighs the danger of the drug itself. It's unfortunate for those few people for whom it might be indicated, we no longer now have an option."

Despite these latest findings, Dr. Jack and his colleagues still remain cautious about fen phen.

"I think the research right now doesn't tell us who is predisposed to get the heart valve disease. I do not think it ought to be released back on the market at this stage until further studies are done."

Besides, researchers say there are some other equally promising drugs out there.

"And that may be something as simple as a medicine called bromocryptine which is used in Europe now in a short-acting form that has been shown to be quite effective in changing the daily schedule of the brain."

However bromocryptine also carries baggage. Once taken, it brings on fainting spells. So it has to be taken in a single dose, in the morning, while the user is still in bed. Ed Yeates, KSL News, SLC.