Yohimbe in Energy Drinks = DEATH/ Personal Injury suits

[JD_2B]

Energy boosters could be cause of heart failure : The Temple News

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration-banned ingredient called Yohimbe is believed to be illegally laced in almost every energy drink on the commercial market. Yohimbe allegedly caused the death of two teenagers in Allentown, Pa., earlier in the month, as well as that of a sophomore from the University of Arizona.

Yohimbe is an extract from an African tree bark that was used as an aphrodisiac to treat impotency long before medications like Viagra existed. It was under investigation by the FDA prior to these incidents and banned from over-the-counter diet pills in 1993.

“[Yohimbe] has been added to a number of different over-the-counter medications where they are not actually labeling it or describing the dangers of the drug,” Dr. José Missri said.

Missri is a cardiology specialist at Temple University Hospital and a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Temple’s School of Medicine.

“It is a very dangerous drug because it’s not controlled by the FDA,” Missri said. “Some people respond differently to the drug. Frankly, I don’t see any advantages to using it at all. Serious toxic effects have been cardiac, where people develop severe high blood pressure or hypertension.”

Serious complications from the consumption of Yohimbe include heart problems like hypertension, severe high blood pressure, rapid heartbeats and other irregular heart rates. It can also lead to kidney failure and is associated with seizures, behavioral issues, tremors, episodes of anxiety and hallucinations.

Missri said in the most serious cases, Yohimbe can cause heart failure.

The less serious effects of Yohimbe include nausea and vomiting.

Weidner said she is upset that the FDA is not more involved.

“The FDA doesn’t even regulate over-the-counter herbal supplements, so I’m not surprised they don’t regulate [energy drinks] either,” Weidner said.

The FDA provides a strategy for protecting food supply and managing recalls, but an FDA representative for food safety, who declined to disclose her name, said foods do not require FDA approval, and energy drinks fall into that category.

Pending the outcome of the ongoing FDA investigation, families of victims may have the right to take legal action.

Frank McClellan, a Temple health law professor, has substantial litigation experience in products liability.

“With most lawsuits, it will be filed as a personal injury action, which, for private individuals, is brought under state and civil law as a personal injury claim called a private tort lawsuit,” McClellan said.

In a Supreme Court case from earlier this month, the Court ruled it permissible for a person to file a lawsuit for not being informed about the dangers of a personal product.

“The manufacturer is obligated by law of federal stature to get approval before sharing the composition of a product. Once it’s approved, the company is supposed to admit any injuries to the FDA to determine if that personal product is allowed to remain effective,” McClellan said.

If a company fails to do this, then its products are subject to recall or can be discontinued.

McClellan said in terms of drugs and devices, the FDA requires companies to conduct animal studies followed by clinical trials.

There are three phases for the clinical investigations for untested drugs.

Phase one is the initial introduction of the new drug into humans to determine the metabolic and pharmacological actions of the drug and its side effects.

Phase two studies consist of initial controlled clinical studies.

Phase three studies further determine effectiveness and turn those findings into product labeling. According to the FDA, studies at this level could have up to several thousand human participants.
Weidner said she is unhappy with the lack of FDA intervention.

“I think that the company should be under probation where [the FDA] tests their products and looks at them a little more seriously,” she said. “Energy drinks are marketed like Coca-Cola, but I don’t think they should be considered that way because they are [a product] that has the effects of a drug.”

“I don’t usually drink [energy drinks] because they make me feel jittery,” said junior accounting major Allison Ashley. “But sometimes, when I get them for free, I do.”

The FDA does not comment on ongoing investigations.

Major energy drink companies like Red Bull and 5-Hour Energy also declined comment. Commercial energy drink companies have not issued any statements about the situation.

Missri emphasized the harmful effects of energy drinks over time on the heart and body.

“People have died over it,” he said.

More on Yohimbe: (a must read, for those who enjoy energy drinks!!)
Yohimbe Side Effects, Interactions and Warnings


I want the corporate assholes to pay for not doing the proper clinical trials, or for not reporting their findings adequately. People are dying. Now I finally know why my son's dad died of a stroke at the ripe young age of 30. Til now it was a mystery, and we all chalked it up to him being a bit overweight. I personally even entertained the notion that he might have been using prescription drugs, and overdosed on accident. (we were divorced when he died) When we were together, he was completely manic depressive and I often had to "save" him from committing suicide. He was also Baker Acted about a year after we split.

Now- I truly believe his death was caused by the apparent Yohimbe in his energy drinks. He was suffering from depression, so the MAO qualities of Yohimbe, combined with the energy boost that a fat guy in a registered nursing program of study who works full time would need- it only makes perfect sense to me. He was never one to use drugs.. Neither one of us were big fans of drinking, even. Mystery solved.. And now, this single mom of a now fatherless child, is WAY beyond annoyed.