Army investigating body building drug connection to soldiers' deaths

Army Probes Health Supplement's Link to Deaths

December 16, 2011
Stars and Stripes
by Travis J. Tritten

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – The U.S. Army said it is investigating whether a popular bodybuilding and weight-loss supplement might be to blame for two soldier deaths and serious health problems in others, including liver and kidney damage.

The two soldiers suffered heart attacks and died earlier this year during physical training with their units at an Army base in the southwestern United States and the dietary supplement DMAA was discovered in their bodies following toxicology tests, according to Army spokeswoman Maria Tolleson.

The Army launched an ongoing safety review after recording a number of other serious health effects among known and potential users of products containing DMAA including “kidney and liver failure, seizures, loss of consciousness, heat injury and muscle breakdown during exertion, and rapid heartbeat,” Tolleson said in a written response to Stars and Stripes this week.

Bodybuilding and weight-loss pills and powders containing DMAA, which is widely marketed by the fitness supplement industry as geranium extract and 1,3 dimethylamylamine, were pulled from shelves at Army and Air Force Exchange Service and Navy Exchange stores around the world following a military product recall Dec. 3.

Retailer GNC and at least one maker of the products said Friday that products containing DMAA have been tested as safe and have not been linked to any other health problems.

“There is no scientific or medical evidence that demonstrates any causal link between DMAA and any adverse medical condition, let alone a death,” according to GNC spokesman Greg Miller.
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