Ephedra Blamed in Bechler's Heatstroke

Date: 14-03-2003 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamGermany

The diet supplement ephedra contributed to the heatstroke that killed Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler last month, a medical examiner said Thursday.

Toxicology tests confirmed that "significant amounts" of an over-the-counter supplement containing the herb and other factors led to the heatstroke, Broward County medical examiner Dr. Joshua Perper said.

Ephedra is banned by the NCAA, NFL and International Olympic Committee but not major league baseball.

After Bechler's death Feb. 17, baseball commissioner Bud Selig banned players with minor league contracts from taking ephedra, an amphetamine-like stimulant used for weight loss and bodybuilding.

Selig and the players' union said they would wait for Bechler's toxicology results before deciding whether to ban the substance for major leaguers, too.

Bechler, a 23-year-old prospect, died less than 24 hours after collapsing during a spring training workout as his temperature rose to 108 degrees.

Perper, who interviewed the player's family and Orioles officials, said he was told Bechler took three tablets each morning of Xenadrine RFA-1. A bottle of the weight-loss supplement was later found in Bechler's locker.

Perper said the toxicology analysis "revealed significant amounts of ephedrine" in Bechler's blood along with low amounts of two other stimulants, pseudoephedrine and caffeine.

That's consistent with taking three tablets of Xenadrine, Perper said. He said Xenadrine and other risk factors contributed to the death. The analysis showed no other drugs or alcohol in Bechler's system, other than those used to treat him at a local hospital.

Since the death, the Food and Drug Administration has announced that every bottle of ephedra will soon carry warnings that the popular herb can cause heart attacks or strokes or even kill.

The FDA stopped short of banning the herb used for weight loss and as an athletic performance booster. Despite reports of at least 100 deaths linked to ephedra use, the agency said it has not compiled enough proof of danger to stand up in court under a 1994 law that limits federal safety oversight of dietary supplements.