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>'Herbal' Viagra Often No Such Thing, Studies Find > > >WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Herbal" Viagra and other >so-called natural alternatives for treating impotence >advertised on the Internet and in men's magazines are >often contaminated with real drugs and could kill >those who take them, researchers said on Monday. > >They said the flood of e-mail spam touting >alternatives to prescription erectile dysfunction >drugs was a sign of how popular such products were, >but the researchers suggested that governments monitor >and regulate supplements more closely. > >"These are being marketed as being safe and natural >products," said Dr. Neil Fleshner of Princess Margaret >Hospital in Toronto, Canada. "It is plausible that >deaths have occurred or could occur." > >Fleshner and colleagues bought seven "herbal" erectile >dysfunction products to find out what was in them. > >Two contained significant levels of prescription >phosphodiesterase inhibitors -- sildenafil, sold by >Pfizer under the brand name Viagra and tadalafil, Eli >Lilly and Co's Cialis. > >"We think the implications of this are quite >dramatic," Fleshner told a news conference. > >"Since these compounds are not natural, deliberate >contamination of these products must be considered," >added Fleshner, whose team presented the findings to a >meeting of the American Urological Association in San >Francisco. > >The erectile dysfunction drugs affect blood flow and >can be deadly when taken with certain heart drugs >containing nitrates. The researchers said they would >continue efforts to get the U.S. Food and Drug >Administration (news - web sites) to more closely >regulate "alternative" products. > >PRESSING FOR LEGAL CHANGES > >Current law allows non-prescription supplements to be >advertised so long as they do not make specific health >claims, such as lowering cholesterol. However, the FDA >does move to stop the marketing of products that >contain prescription medicines. > >"The law, in my opinion, is way off the mark," Dr. Ira >Sharlip of Pacific Urology in San Francisco told the >news conference. > >A British study said other herbal products could also >be dangerous. > >Dr. Ramesh Thurairaja and colleagues at the Bristol >Royal Infirmary in Britain did a "Google" Internet >search using the words "herbal" and "Viagra." > >"I actually picked up 160,000 hits last year," >Thurairaja told a news conference. "Two weeks ago I >typed the same two words in and got 690,000 hits." > >Many of the sites also touted penis enlargement >products, Thurairaja noted. > >His team assessed the first 50 Web sites and found >only 36 percent offered any advice on who should not >use the products and just 21 percent listed potential >side-effects. > >Only 21 percent offered information from someone with >medical training and 24 percent clearly stated that >their information was not to replace doctors' advice. > >"The commonest ingredients were yohimbe, ginseng and >gingko biloba," Thurairaja said. "All these herbs have >been previously investigated in the past and are known >to have side effects such as skin reaction and >cardiovascular disorders." > >The AUA's Dr. Mark Moyad said many "alternative" >products were being pushed by doctors. > >"They sell products out of the office," Moyad said. >"They haven't gone through any sort of clinical trial >and (yet) they are 'doctor-approved'."

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