An amphetamine-like stimulant, β-Methylphenylethylamine (BMPEA), has been found in dietary supplements marketed for improving athletic performance and weight loss and this supplement could very much be to accountable for hemorrhagic stroke in a patient who popped the supplement before the completion of her vigorous workout. The case report, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, is the first one for suggesting an association between BMPEA and exercise-induced stroke.
This woman, 53, who has a past record of being healthy and has a good physical condition, reported that after 45 minutes of starting her regular vigorous workout she suddenly felt numbness and clumsiness in her left hand. She had reported taking the supplement Jacked Power shortly before starting her workout as label in the packaging. The supplement had been analyzed in the lab and it was found that it contained a high dose of the stimulant BMPEA, something that is not listed as the ingredient of the product.
Warning has been issued to consumers by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before regarding BMPEA, a synthetic compound, the health effects of which in people are still unknown. This compound is sometimes sold as a natural compound found in the shrub Acacia rigidula and unfortunately in this case neither BMPEA nor Acacia rigidula has been listed as the supplement label.
The lead author of the report, Pieter Cohen, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and a practicing general internist at Cambridge Health Alliance has said that consumers and physicians should very cautious about this.
“Dietary supplements can legally be sold to improve workouts even when there is zero evidence that they actually work in humans,” said Dr. Cohen. “This creates a perverse incentive for manufacturers to introduce untested drugs into sports supplements to achieve the advertised effect. Tragically, untested stimulants can pose serious health risks to unsuspecting consumers.”
Exercise in general increases blood pressure, and so “if the BMPEA further increased blood pressure, that could pose a risk of a bleeding stroke,” Cohen said.
In the woman’s case, her doctors conducted tests and determined that she didn’t have an aneurysm. “What was striking here was her brain was 100 percent healthy,” Cohen said.
The FDA has also advised consumers to steer clear of weight-loss supplements if they look suspicious, because this category of supplements often contains unlisted drugs that can be harmful.
