CLUES SOUGHT IN MAN'S DEATH LINK TO SUPPLEMENT BEING INVESTIGATED

Authorities are investigating whether an over-the-counter supplement
marketed on the Internet as an aid to "help you party harder" played a
role in the weekend death of a former high school wrestler in Niantic.

Andrew W. Hayes, 20, died on a kitchen floor in an apartment in East
Lyme early Sunday morning, shortly after a night of drinking that
ended when he passed out at the Lyme Tavern, state police say.

In the hours before his death, police say, Hayes was given an elixir
containing a supplement known as Invigorate. Investigators say he was
given the substance by another patron at the tavern. Officials at the
tavern told police Hayes was not served alcohol there.

The chief state medical examiner's office is working to determine
whether the cocktail played a role in his death.

Experts say Invigorate belongs to a class of dangerous supplements
that are chemically similar to certain banned substances -- but are
different enough to skirt the law.

The Food and Drug Administration in January asked manufacturers to
voluntarily recall supplements that contain Invigorate's active
ingredient. The federal agency said those supplements have been linked
to at least one death and 19 cases in which consumers lost
consciousness or fell into a coma.

Invigorate is banned in at least one state, Florida, but it is legal
in Connecticut.

"They're selling a very dangerous substance," said Dr. Marc Bayer,
medical director of the Poison Control Center at the University of
Connecticut Health Center. "I guarantee you that if this stuff is
allowed to continue, there are going to be some very serious health
problems and maybe more deaths."

Invigorate is marketed on the Internet as everything from a dietary
supplement to a body-building enhancer, from a sleep aid to an herbal
Viagra.

Despite a warning label that it not be used with alcohol, one Internet
marketer touts it as a compound that can "help you party harder or
wake up easier."

Alcohol and the active compound in Invigorate are both central nervous
system depressants. "Mixed together you're going to see more deaths,"
Bayer said.

"It can cause you to stop breathing, especially when mixed with
alcohol," Bayer said. "It could have caused this 20-year-old to die."

Authorities have yet to determine what caused Hayes' death, and they
have not ruled out the possibility the supplement played no role.
Toxicology tests, which typically take several weeks, are expected to
shed light on the cause of death.

According to the label, Invigorate is produced by Invigorate
International Inc. based in New York City. There is no listed phone
number for the company and its representatives could not be reached
for comment.

But Internet marketers insist the product is safe if used as
directed.

"You can get by on about half as much sleep on that stuff because your
quality of sleep is so much better," said Tim Barnes, a sales
representative at Midlands Research.

Barnes said his firm, which operates out of an apartment in Columbia,
S.C., has not carried Invigorate in several weeks.

Several retailers contacted Wednesday said they do not carry
Invigorate or the other drugs in its class -- Blue Nitro, Reviverant
and Renewtrient to name a few.

A spokesman for GNC, which operates some 4,000 stores internationally,
said the chain has never carried those supplements. "We pay a lot of
attention to the quality of the vendor as well as the quality of the
product," said Gregory Miller, the spokesman.