March 3, 2003 (The Associated Press) -- The Rand think tank released a review on Friday of the effect of the herb ephedra and the drug ephedrine on weight loss and athletic performance.
Pending further data, the study found that the substance probably kills at least occasionally, while giving users very little weight-loss benefit and no enhanced athletic performance.
Following are highlights from the study:
Weight loss:
-Short-term use of ephedra or ephedrine is linked with about a 2-pound-per-month increased weight loss, but the studies lasted only a few months, so there is no evidence of long-term benefit.
Athletic performance:
-No studies exist on the efficacy of herbal ephedra-containing dietary supplements on athletic performance. The few studies of the active ingredient, the chemical ephedrine, used small samples of mostly fit individuals, finding a modest effect on short-term performance when caffeine is included. Without caffeine, ephedra has little or no effect on athletic performance.
Adverse consequences:
-Use of ephedra or ephedrine with or without caffeine is associated with two to three times the risk of nausea, vomiting, psychiatric symptoms, autonomic hyperactivity and palpitations.
-In one database of 16,000 health complaints by ephedra users, ephedra was linked to two deaths, four heart attacks, nine strokes, one seizure and five psychiatric cases for which other causes were ruled out.
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
