FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 339:847-848 September 17, 1998 Number 12 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text Purchase this article Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited PubMed Citation

To the Editor: Ingestion of -hydroxybutyric acid, marketed as a "body-building supplement," may result in coma and apnea. Its sale has recently been banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but similar alternative products continue to be marketed. After the addition of water and sodium hydroxide, -butyrolactone, a solvent, is converted to -hydroxybutyric acid. Studies suggest that -butyrolactone poisoning can produce a clinical picture similar to that associated with -hydroxybutyric acid.¹

RenewTrient, described on the label as a dietary supplement that "stimulates the body's own natural production of Growth Hormone," contains -butyrolactone. We report a case of central nervous . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Bukutu, C., Le, C., Vohra, S. (2008). Asthma: A Review of Complementary and Alternative Therapies. Pediatr. Rev. 29: e44-e49 [Full Text]  
• Bardia, A., Barton, D. L., Prokop, L. J., Bauer, B. A., Moynihan, T. J. (2006). Efficacy of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies in Relieving Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review. JCO 24: 5457-5464 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bardia, A., Wahner-Roedler, D. L., Erwin, P. L., Sood, A. (2006). Search Strategies for Retrieving Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinical Trials in Oncology. Integr Cancer Ther 5: 202-205 [Abstract]  
• Hanje, A. J., Fortune, B., Song, M., Hill, D., McClain, C. (2006). The Use of Selected Nutrition Supplements and Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Liver Disease. Nutr Clin Pract 21: 255-272 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dennehy, C. E., Tsourounis, C., Horn, A. J. (2005). Dietary supplement-related adverse events reported to the California Poison Control System. Am J Health Syst Pharm 62: 1476-1482 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Smolinske, S. C. (2005). Herbal Product Contamination and Toxicity. Journal of Pharmacy Practice 18: 188-208 [Abstract]  
• Sherman, K. J., Cherkin, D. C., Eisenberg, D. M., Erro, J., Hrbek, A., Deyo, R. A. (2005). The Practice of Acupuncture: Who Are the Providers and What Do They Do?. Ann Fam Med 3: 151-158 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Van Mieghem, C., Sabbe, M., Knockaert, D. (2004). The Clinical Value of the ECG in Noncardiac Conditions. Chest 125: 1561-1576 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Stauffer, W. M., Maroushek, S., Kamat, D. (2003). Medical Screening of Immigrant Children. CLIN PEDIATR 42: 763-773  
• Larimore, W. L, O'Mathuna, D. P (2003). Quality Assessment Programs for Dietary Supplements. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 37: 893-898 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Halsted, C. H (2003). Dietary supplements and functional foods: 2 sides of a coin?. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 77: 1001S-1007 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Marcus, D. M., Grollman, A. P. (2002). Botanical Medicines -- The Need for New Regulations. NEJM 347: 2073-2076 [Full Text]  
• Corns, C, Metcalfe, K (2002). Risks associated with herbal slimming remedies. The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 122: 213-219 [Abstract]  
• Ang-Lee, M. K., Moss, J., Yuan, C.-S. (2001). Herbal Medicines and Perioperative Care. JAMA 286: 208-216 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Liepa, G. (2001). Editorial: Cardioprotective Effects of {omega}-3 Fatty Acids: A Critical Review That Should Be Read by a Wide Range of Health Professionals. Nutr Clin Pract 16: 5-5  
• Sardesai, V. M., Myers, T. (2001). Clinincal Observations: Nutrient Supplements in Clinical Care. Nutr Clin Pract 16: 35-45 [Abstract]  
• Dupont, P, Thornton, J (2001). Near-fatal gamma-butyrolactone intoxication--first report in the UK. Hum Exp Toxicol 20: 19-22 [Abstract]  
• Pribitkin, E. d., Boger, G. (2000). Surgery and Herbal Therapy: Essential Guidelines on Bleeding, Skin Reactions, and Wound Healing. Complementary Health Practice Review 6: 29-40 [Abstract]  
• Lau, K K, Lai, C K, Chan, A Y. (2000). Phenytoin poisoning after using Chinese proprietary medicines. Hum Exp Toxicol 19: 385-386 [Abstract]  
• Eliason, B. C. (1999). Commonly Used Medicinal Herbs. Arch Fam Med 8: 376-376 [Full Text]  
• Sidransky, H., Verney, E. (1999). Influence of Lead Acetate and Selected Metal Salts on Tryptophan Binding to Rat Hepatic Nuclei. Toxicol Pathol 27: 441-447 [Abstract]  
• (1999). Adverse Events Associated With Ingestion of Gamma-Butyrolactone--Minnesota, New Mexico, and Texas, 1998-1999. JAMA 281: 979-980 [Full Text]