Dec 7 (Heart Center Online) - Manufacturers have begun to take over-the-counter medications containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA) off the shelves this month, in reponse to alarming findings from the Yale Hemorrhagic Stroke Project. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked manufacturers in November to stop production of over-the-counter medications containing (PPA).

The Yale Hemorrhagic Stroke Project interviewed 702 people who had had their first stroke. Researchers compared these data to telephone survey data from another 1376 people who were matched for age and race of the stroke survivors. Results suggested a significant link between hemorrhagic stroke in women and use of PPA within the previous three days.

Although the risk of stroke from PPA appears to be quite low, the FDA's Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee determined that the risk was high enough to warn people against its use. Until the substance has been completely removed from the market, people are urged to check the ingredients in over-the-counter pills and avoid any that contain PPA.

PPA has been present in various medications for over 30 years. Expert panels approved of its use as a nasal decongestant in 1976, and of its use in diet pills in 1982. However, the FDA did note unusual cases in which the drug was associated with hemorrhagic stroke -- a type of stroke caused by bleeding within or around the brain. Recent data suggest a greater risk from PPA than was previously determined.

For more information about diet pills, including some of the diet pills that have been withdrawn from the market, please click on the following link: Appetite Suppressants.

SOURCE: The official web site of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/default.htm

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