Ephedrine and its herbal cousin ephedra frequently are used to promote weight loss or to enhance athletic performance. Several highly publicized deaths in athletes who . . .
Ephedrine and its herbal cousin ephedra frequently are used to promote weight loss or to enhance athletic performance. Several highly publicized deaths in athletes who took ephedrine or ephedra have led to calls for tighter federal regulation. A meta-analysis was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to assess both efficacy and safety. A literature search resulted in discovery of 19 controlled trials of weight loss, 8 of athletic performance, and 50 of safety and adverse events, plus more than 18,000 case reports (284 were reviewed).
Ephedrine, with or without caffeine, resulted in incremental weight loss, compared with placebo, of 0.6 kg monthly; no trials followed subjects for longer than 6 months. Trials of ephe…