eMPR released an article on May 12, 2015 titled Hidden BMPEA in Dietary Supplement Likely Cause of Stroke in Patient. The chemical name of BMPEA is ?-methylphenylethylamine, which is an isomer of methamphetamine. One of the issues with supplements is that they may contain undeclared drugs that the users did not intend to take. These undeclared drugs can cause organ failures leading to heart attacks, strokes and deaths.
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The case history of this death was published on May 12, 2015 in The Annals of Internal Medicine. Pieter A Cohen, MD from the Harvard Medical School described the 53 year old woman that had the stroke as being in good health, with low weight and very regular exercise. She took a dietary supplement for the first time before exercising on the day she had the stroke.
One of the dilemmas that we face in the US is that many of the prescription drugs are clearly dangerous. Most new drugs advertised on television have side effects that can endanger or kill the patient. Supplements can often cure these diseases while causing fewer major side effects. Some of the Ayurvedic and Oriental Medicine drugs have been used for thousands of years are much safer, if somewhat slower, than pharmaceutical drugs on curing major diseases. Supplements generally offer safer alternatives, but their efficacy varies as does the dosages found in the supplement tablets or herbs.
An AaRP survey showed that nearly 17% of patients took one of more supplements in 2012 that were unregulated by the FDA. The FDA gives the supplement manufacturer an out by having the manufacturer state that the claims made for the supplement have not been evaluated by the FDA. The FDA mandated label also says that the product is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. We might wonder why anyone would take a supplement that doesn't do anything, but the supplements don't usually kill you.
The exceptions to supplements being relatively safe are mainly in two areas, weight loss and sexual performance enhancement. A previous Examiner.com article on weight loss drugs lists several popular weight loss supplements. The first risk of these supplements are heart attack or stroke. Many of the same undeclared drugs that are used in sexual enhancement supplements are used in weight loss supplements. The attempt to speed up metabolism often results in higher heart rates, blood pressures, and metabolism.
There is a Complementary Medicine segment in the National Institute of Health (NIH). Part of this group's mission is to test and verify the efficacy of herbal supplements. Despite the assertions that the supplements are ineffective, there are now warnings that supplements can interact with pharmaceutical drugs for diseases ranging from cancer to allergies.
Pay particular attention to how supplements make you feel. Use the same cautions while driving or operating other machinery that are used with some pharmaceutical drugs when taking supplements. People have been taking herbal progenex lawsuit supplements for over 4,000 years. Despite this history, pharmaceutical companies and the FDA insist that there is no data to support claims that supplements work. Supplements do work in many cases. They need to be manufactured to standard dosages, tested for contents, and labeled properly. This will take the major dangers out of supplements.
