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Release at 5 P.M.
By Gene Emery
BOSTON, (Reuters) - People who use a dietary supplement found in some
body-building products are risking death, researchers in Minnesota, Texas
and
Florida report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
Lead researcher Deborah Zvosec of the Hennepin County Medical Center in
Minneapolis studied nine cases where people fell ill after consuming
products
containing the supplement known formally as 1,4-butanediol or BD. Two died.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has identified 71 deaths caused by BD
and
another 40 or so are being investigated as suspicious, Zvosec told Reuters.
"And that's just the tip of the iceberg," she said because many people with
overdoses don't seek treatment.
There has been little formal study of BD, which is also used as an
industrial
solvent. Promoters claim it is a natural and nontoxic way to build muscle,
improve athletic performance, increase libido and sexual performance, reduce
wrinkles, reverse baldness and reduce stress, depression and insomnia. The
claims have not been proven.
The chemical is often listed on ingredient labels as tetramethylene glycol,
butylene glycol or sucol-B, and it is contained in products with brand names
like Thunder Nectar, InnerG, Amino flex, Rejuv+Nite, Liquid Gold, Thunder,
Serenity, X-12 and N-Force.
In 1990, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of its chemical
cousin, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). But after Congress passed a 1994 law
making it harder for the federal government to regulate "health foods,"
manufacturers began marketing a similar product called gamma-butyrolactone
(GBL), according to Zvosec and her colleagues.
In January 1999, the FDA warned that GBL was also dangerous.
After the health food industry voluntarily recalled products with GBL, BD
"began to be marketed as a 'replacement product,' for gamma-butyrolactone,"
and promoters expanded their claims for the new products, the Zvosec team
said.
In May 1999, the FDA issued a warning about 1,4-butanediol supplements as
well, the researchers said.
Nonetheless, "extensive marking continues on the Internet, and the use of
all
three compounds, sometimes interchangeably, has increased," the researchers
said.
"If you talk to 100 doctors, maybe 10 have heard about this," said co-author
Dr. Stephen W. Smith of the Hennepin County Medical Center. In an interview,
he said doctors can identify the problem if they know what to look for.
One symptom is a sudden swing between wild, combative behavior and an abrupt
loss of consciousness, he said, adding other symptoms include nausea and
incontinence.
------------------
Yours in sport,
George
George Spellwin
Research Director
Tell your friends about elitefitness.com!
Click here to Give them a free subscription to Elite Fitness News.
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By Gene Emery
BOSTON, (Reuters) - People who use a dietary supplement found in some
body-building products are risking death, researchers in Minnesota, Texas
and
Florida report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
Lead researcher Deborah Zvosec of the Hennepin County Medical Center in
Minneapolis studied nine cases where people fell ill after consuming
products
containing the supplement known formally as 1,4-butanediol or BD. Two died.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has identified 71 deaths caused by BD
and
another 40 or so are being investigated as suspicious, Zvosec told Reuters.
"And that's just the tip of the iceberg," she said because many people with
overdoses don't seek treatment.
There has been little formal study of BD, which is also used as an
industrial
solvent. Promoters claim it is a natural and nontoxic way to build muscle,
improve athletic performance, increase libido and sexual performance, reduce
wrinkles, reverse baldness and reduce stress, depression and insomnia. The
claims have not been proven.
The chemical is often listed on ingredient labels as tetramethylene glycol,
butylene glycol or sucol-B, and it is contained in products with brand names
like Thunder Nectar, InnerG, Amino flex, Rejuv+Nite, Liquid Gold, Thunder,
Serenity, X-12 and N-Force.
In 1990, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of its chemical
cousin, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). But after Congress passed a 1994 law
making it harder for the federal government to regulate "health foods,"
manufacturers began marketing a similar product called gamma-butyrolactone
(GBL), according to Zvosec and her colleagues.
In January 1999, the FDA warned that GBL was also dangerous.
After the health food industry voluntarily recalled products with GBL, BD
"began to be marketed as a 'replacement product,' for gamma-butyrolactone,"
and promoters expanded their claims for the new products, the Zvosec team
said.
In May 1999, the FDA issued a warning about 1,4-butanediol supplements as
well, the researchers said.
Nonetheless, "extensive marking continues on the Internet, and the use of
all
three compounds, sometimes interchangeably, has increased," the researchers
said.
"If you talk to 100 doctors, maybe 10 have heard about this," said co-author
Dr. Stephen W. Smith of the Hennepin County Medical Center. In an interview,
he said doctors can identify the problem if they know what to look for.
One symptom is a sudden swing between wild, combative behavior and an abrupt
loss of consciousness, he said, adding other symptoms include nausea and
incontinence.
------------------
Yours in sport,
George
George Spellwin
Research Director
Tell your friends about elitefitness.com!
Click here to Give them a free subscription to Elite Fitness News.
You could win 30lbs. of Mass Quantities Triple Threat 3/60 Protein!
