Ephedra adverse events
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Nearly 75% of dietary supplement-related adverse event reports collected during a six-month period in California occurred in patients who ingested ephedrine alkaloid-containing products, a study in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy finds. The findings were based on AEs reported to the California Poison Control System between April 2002 and September 2002. Of 480 supplement-related AEs, 353 involved patients who took ephedra products, Cathi Dennehy, University of California, San Francisco, et al., find. The multiple-ingredient products that were "most frequently involved in severe reactions" were Hydroxycut, Metabolife, Xenadrine, Stacker 2 and Yellow Jackets, the authors add. FDA currently is appealing an April 13 Utah federal court decision that overturned the agency's 2004 ban on ephedra for low-dose products...