FDA WARNS AGAINST CHEMICAL BEING SOLD AS DIETARY SUPPLEMENT

Americans should not consume a chemical widely sold in health food
stores and over the Internet that has been linked to one death and 54
cases of severe reactions, including seizures and comatose-like
states, the government warned Thursday.

The chemical -- sold in the guise of a dietary supplement and under
half a dozen names, including GBL and Blue Nitro -- claims to have
such effects as building muscle, enhancing sexual performance and
reducing stress.

Instead, GBL can act on the central nervous system to cause life-
threatening reactions, the Food and Drug Administration said.

"We really want to get out a clear warning to consumers that this is a
dangerous product, and they should not be using it," said Joe Levitt,
the FDA's director of food safety.

The FDA has learned of 55 people who suffered reactions, including a
woman found dead in her home after ingesting GBL. Nineteen other
people lost consciousness, many with such difficulty in breathing that
they required insertion of breathing tubes.

Several GBL users were found incoherent while driving, and one was
involved in a car crash. Others appeared to have suffered seizures.

Many were young adults, but four patients were teen-agers, and a fifth
was an 11-year-old. The FDA provided no further details.

The FDA is tracking down at least six companies that sell GBL under
the guise of a dietary supplement. The government says GBL, or gamma
butyrolactone, is not a dietary supplement but is a derivative of a
powerful party drug banned in the United States since 1991.

When people ingest GBL, it breaks down into the drug known as GHB, or
gamma hydroxybutyrate. GHB is a potent drug that some scientists are
studying in clinical trials as a potential treatment for narcolepsy,
but all other uses of GHB are illegal.

It was blamed for dozens of hospitalizations and at least three deaths
and became known as a "date rape" drug after rendering women helpless.