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10A
FEBRUARY 14, 2002
Living
Feds probe risks of anti-anxiety herb
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON
The 45-year-old woman be
came jaundiced and then, in
just months, became so ill she
needed a liver transplant. Her
doctor suspects the popular
herbal supplement kava.
European health officials re
port 25 similar cases of liver
toxicity, and some countries
are barring kava sales. Now
the Food and Drug Administra
tion is investigating whether
theherbal sedative—promoted
to relieve anxiety, stress and
insomnia — poses a danger.
Under review are 38 Ameri
cans, including the transplant
recipient, with medical prob
lems possibly associated with
kava use. FDA scientists can
not yet say if the blockbuster
seller is to blame.
“Thejury’sstill out on kava,”
agrees Mark Blumenthal of the
American Botanical Council,
which joined industry groups
in hiringa toxicolegist toinves
tigate.
Already Canada has urged
SHHH welcomes executive director for Augusta meeting
Dr. Beth Wilson, execu
tive director of the Na
tional Self Help for Hard
of Hearing People
(SHHH), herself hard of
hearing since birth, will
present “Tips for Hard of
Hearing People at Family
Gatherings” at a local
group meeting which is
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consumers not to take kava
until the question of its safety is
settled; sales have halted in
Switzerland and are suspended
in Britain; Germany is acting
to make kava a prescription
drug. Here, the National Insti
tutes of Health has suspended
two kava studies.
And the FDA’s inquiry has
made some startling findings
on how Americans use largely
unregulated supplements. FDA
records show that:
BTwo 13-year-olds had to be
hospitalized after using kava,
one when the sleep-inducing
herbapparentlyinteracted with
an anesthetic her dentist used
on her and the other whose
doctor reported she took a de
liberate overdose.
@A woman suffering kidney
and liver problems used more
than 20 supplementsand other
over-the-counter remedies,
handfuls of pills a day.
®Another woman popped up
to 15 kava pills every day, more
than three times the maximum
recommenaed dose, in addition
to Prozac and other prescrip
tion drugs.
opentothe public. The meet
ing will be held on Monday,
February 18, 2002, at 5:30
p.m. at the First Baptist
Church, 3500 Walton Way,
Adult Building, Room 100.
Dr. Wilson will welcome ques
tions and other information
on SHHH advocacy in Wash
ington D.C. and assisted lis
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Aside from the difficulty of
teasing out kava’s role, no one
knows how dangerous it is to
mix all these pills willy-nilly
and take such high doses, says
FDA dietary supplement chief
Dr. Christine Taylor.
Worse, “kids who are still
developing—theiruseofthisis
of particular concern. They’re
vulnerable,” she warns.
It’s the latest bad news for
the sl6 billion supplement in
dustry, which reports sharp
sales declines last year. Since
summer, the FDA has issued
repeated warningsabout supple
ments tainted with drugs and
chemicals illegally posing as
supplementsand asked makers
oftheliver-damagingherbcom
frey to stop selling it for inter
nal use. ;
Under federal law; no one
has to prove dietary supple
ments are safe or work as ad
vertised before they begin sell
ing. The FDA’s $9 million
supplement divisioninsteadin
vestigates problemsand triesto
curbuseofproductsitcan prove
dangerous.
While kava is sold as a natu
tening technology.
Augusta SHHH Group is
one of 250 local groups and
chapters throughout the
United States promoting bet
ter communication for people
with hearing loss through
education, advocacy and sup
port. SHHH is a non-profit,
educational organization for
ral alternative to prescription
anxietyrelievers, littleisknown
about how it works, says Dr.
Jonathan Davidson of Duke
University, whohopes his NlH
suspended study willresumeto
answer those questions.
No serious side effects arose
in studies where people took
only kava for short periods, he
says, but “the core of the prob
lem is we really don’t know
very much about the way kava
interacts withother medicines.”
Kava, amember ofthe pepper
family, has longbeen usedasa
ceremonial drink in the South
Pacific. Used sporadically, its
biggest danger seemed to be if
people drank too much of the
sedative before driving.
Thén, about two years ago,
kava in pill form suddenly
boomed, bringingin about S3O
million in sales, and Europe
reported liver damage.
Many of the European pa
tients already had some liver
damage before using kava or
used alcohol or other known
liver-harming substances in
addition to the herb,
Blumenthal cautions.
people with hearing loss,
their relatives and friends,
and hearing health profes
sionals who are devoted to
thewelfare and interests of
those who cannot hear well.
Formoreinformation on
the February 18 event, con
tact Carrie Welter (706) 738-
2796.
CENTER FOR PRIMARY CARE
) FAMILY MEDICINE
Dr. Priya S. Deshpande is a family physician at
CPC-Central near Doctors Hospital. She cares
for family members of all ages and has a special
interest in women’s health care and pediatrics.
To make an appointment with Dr. Deshpande,
call (706) 868-7380.
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CPC—Caring for Augusta Families Since 1993 e www.cpcfamilymedicine.com
Home Care At Its Best
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WE OFFER THE BEST IN HOME NURSING CARE
Take this opportunity to : i SouTHERN HOME CARE SERVICES
make a difference in . ELDERCARE
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Seeking N
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and Providing Home Nursi
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Children’s Dental Health Month
: FORT GORDON
Fort Gordon’s Dental Ac
tivity Clinic visits Terrace
Manor Elementary School,
3110 Tate Road, February 15
at 9 a.m. The visit is to in
form the community about
Children’s Dental Health
[T
ECONOMY FULL SET DENTURES*.....S32S
Custom Full Set Denture 5....................... $475
Premium Full Set Denture 5...................... $685
Reline (each)........cccovenunciinnnncniiinnees slls
Simple Extraction (each)..............cceceneeene. $45
Full-mouth x-ray (required for extractions)....s4s
Gold Denture Crown.,.......ceoueeesannssnsenes . sll
Fees effective February 4, 2002.
No Appointment Necessary
*Same Day Service If In Before 9 a.m.
We gladly accept Cash, Visa, Master Card and Discover
as payment for our services. We are unable to accept checks.
; : AFFORDABLE DENTURES-
For more information, please call AUGUSTA, P.C.
BRADFORD R. THOMPSON, DMD
|l800l”[“l"k[ ALAN W. BROWN, DMD
MICHAEL SCOTT, DMD
General Dentists
(1-800-336-8873) 1332 Augusta W. Pkwy
www.affordabledentures.com . Augusta, GA
(706) 869-1818
STAYINFORMED...
Subscribe to the Augusta Focus
Call (706)724-7855
Same day
-Saturday
evening
appointments
available
CPC-Central
3614-D J. Dewey Gray Circle
Augusta, GA 30909
Mon-Thurs 8:30 am-8 pm e Fri 8:30 am-5 pm
Month.
While visiting children in
the second, third and fourth
grades, representatives of
theclinicwill hand out tooth
brushes and talk to children
about the prevention of den
tal disease.
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Priya S. Deshpande, MD