posted on February 18, 2003 04:29:56 PM new
A young baseball pitcher has apparently died from the effects of ephedra(also known as Ma Huang), a natural stimulant commonly used in over-the-counter weight loss regimens. He was said to be taking Xenadrine, a popular diet pill. It has been implicated in numerous deaths and serious side effects. The government has made several attempts to restrict the distribution of this dangerous substance to no avail.
posted on February 18, 2003 05:44:59 PM new
Lets not jump the gun here. The was a suppliment bottle in his locker, no proof yet of anything. Lets let actual results be given before we start tossing blame.
[ edited by neonmania on Feb 18, 2003 05:52 PM ]
posted on February 18, 2003 05:59:08 PM new
Coroner Dr. Joshua Perper not only found Ephedra partly to blame for Bechlar's sudden death, he went so far as to say no athlete should take it.
posted on February 18, 2003 06:17:18 PM new
:: Only toxicology tests can confirm whether there was ephedrine in Bechler's system, and those results won't be available for at least two weeks, Perper said. ::
There is no way to know what caused this type of death in a day.
The reason I say this:
In October of 1997 professional wrestler and former Cincinatti Bengal Brian Pillman was found dead in his hotel room. In the room were a number of prescription drugs (Pillmans life was a laundry list of disease, pain and injury) and suplements. It was widely speculated by all that his death was the result of either an OD or a suppliment.
It took months for complete autopsy and tox results to come back but what was determined was that Pillman had suffered from an undiagnosed congenital heart condition which had also killed his father.
I'm not saying that ephedra did not lead to his death. I' m just saying don't jump the gun.
[ edited by neonmania on Feb 18, 2003 06:17 PM ]
posted on February 18, 2003 06:22:14 PM new
Who's jumping the gun? Relax.
Until the toxicology tests are complete in two to three weeks I believe that it would be a good idea for athletes to avoid using this drug...especially when exercising in heat.
posted on February 18, 2003 06:24:48 PM new
Sorry - I just realized that the piece I quoted was different from the one you had. Here is a more detailed article regarding the death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A weight-loss drug containing a stimulant probably contributed to the heatstroke death of Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler, a coroner said Tuesday.
Bechler had been taking an over-the-counter supplement that contained ephedrine, which has been linked to heatstroke and heart trouble, Broward County medical examiner Dr. Joshua Perper said.
Ephedrine has been banned by the NCAA, the NFL and the International Olympic Committee, but not by major league baseball.
Perper urged baseball to ban the stimulant, and its risks — along with warnings about hot weather — were a topic of clubhouse conversation throughout big league training camps.
"We're going to wait until we know more about what happened," baseball spokesman Rich Levin said.
Bechler died Monday, less than 24 hours after a spring training workout sent his temperature to 108 degrees. Preliminary autopsy findings indicated he died from complications of heatstroke that caused multi-organ failure, Perper said.
Only toxicology tests can confirm whether there was ephedrine in Bechler's system, and those results won't be available for at least two weeks, Perper said.
Among other factors cited by Perper as contributing to the 23-year-old pitcher's death:
_ a history of borderline high blood pressure;
_ liver abnormalities detected two years ago but not diagnosed;
_ warm, humid weather during the workout when he became ill Sunday;
_ he was on a diet and hadn't eaten much solid food the previous two days.
"All of those factors converged together and resulted in the fatal heatstroke," Perper said.
But Perper spent the bulk of his 30-minute news conference focusing on ephedrine, the active substance in the plant ephedra. Though common in supplements, Perper said they're too risky for athletes.
"I would like to hope that this very unfortunate and tragic death would prompt perhaps the baseball association and other athletic groups to ban them from their practice," he said.
Perper, who interviewed the player's family and Orioles officials, said he was told Bechler took three tablets each morning of Xenadrine RFA-1, a weight-loss drug that contains ephedrine.
Cytodyne Technologies, which makes Xenadrine, noted that the recommended dosage for the drug is two capsules twice a day.
"Physicians warn that many adverse events related to ephedra are due to people taking more than the recommended dosages," the company said in a statement. "Xenadrine has been the subject of numerous clinical trials on people, which have conclusively demonstrated that the product is safe and effective when used as directed."
A bottle of Xenadrine was found in Bechler's locker after he became ill and shown to paramedics, Perper said. The contents couldn't be analyzed because the bottle was inadvertently thrown away by someone with the team, he said.
"They figured it's not important," Perper said.
Major league teams have cautioned players in the past about the dangers of ephedrine. Medical personnel with the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants were among those warning players anew Tuesday about the risks.
In addition, the Yankees left an article entitled, "The Effect of Heat on Athletes," on every player's locker room seat.
Orioles team physician Dr. William Goldiner said he hopes the coroner's findings trigger a baseball ban.
"This is not just a problem of major league baseball," Goldiner said. "This is a problem of over-the-counter supplements that are dangerous, and they are unregulated to the point where you don't even know what's in some of these things."
posted on February 18, 2003 06:33:19 PM new
D'oh! My bad. I was refrring to the title of the thread and got all confused and flustered....and...ahhhhh too much Thermadrine... I blame the thermadrine...... and Reamond.....and Bush.....
posted on February 21, 2003 05:00:40 AM new
Both the FDA, which has done so before, and Major League Baseball, are to consider a permanent ban of ephedra-based substances.
posted on February 21, 2003 09:22:11 AM new
And not a moment too soon. Ephedra has been proven to be responsible for more deaths than all other herbal supplements combined. Many of the people who died were young and otherwise healthy.
I read some heartbreaking testimony from a couple who spoke to a Senate committee a month after their 16-year-old son dropped dead. If anyone's interested I'll scare up a link.
Metabolife's lawyers have argued that many of these deaths were due to "undiagnosed heart defects" but I don't buy that argument. Yes, there might have been a congenital defect in someone's heart ... but it might never would have been a problem without the horrible strain placed on it by the unsafe use of adreneline similators. And there have been many Ephedra victims whose hearts and brains were perfectly healthy, except for the fact that they were dead.
My doctor went ballistic when I told her I was using Metabolife to lose weight. She told me she knows of several people who have suffered long-lasting health impacts from using ephedra. Because it elevates your blood pressure, it can trigger glaucoma, which can eventually destroy a person's eyesight. (She won - I stopped.)
IF YOU ARE USING AN EPHREDA-CONTAINING SUBSTANCE, PLEASE AT LEAST CHECK THE DOSAGE AGAINST THE RECOMMENDED MAXIMUMS SET BY THE FDA. Don't assume that because you're taking the dose recommended on the package, you're safe. Many manufacturers recommend a dosage far in excess of the 24 mg/day recommended as a max by the FDA. It's important to note that a significant number of the adverse health incidents reported to the FDA were determined to result from dosages below the 24 mg limit.
[ edited by msincognito on Feb 21, 2003 12:30 PM ]
