FREIBURG, Germany, Apr 9, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Poison emergency centers in
two German cities have registered 17 patients with health problems after taking
Chinese slimming capsules, researchers said.
Pharmacologist Dieter Muller and colleagues describe the documented cases of
poisoning in the cities of Freiburg and Gottingen in the current edition of
Deutsches Arzteblatt International.
Fifteen women and two men exhibited symptoms of poisoning, including nausea,
tachycardia, headache, agitation, dyspnea and insomnia. A 14-year-old girl was
admitted to a psychiatric ward because of acute confusion, the article said. A
man developed a psychosis after taking the capsules. In addition, severe
symptoms of poisoning mainly occurred in combination with other drugs, the study
said.
The slimming pill is sold over the Internet and the advertising says it contains
herbal substances and is declared as a food supplement, the researchers said.
However, examination of the formulation has shown that it also contains the
active substance sibutramine, which resembles amphetamine and which inhibits the
reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain, the study said.
The sibutramine dose in each capsule corresponded to twice the daily maximum
dose of the prescription drug in Germany, Muller said.
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