Male enhancement products may be dangerous, feds warn

[Hoss68]

Diedtra Henderson, Associated Press
November 2, 2004 ENHANCE1103

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration today warned consumers not to buy or use Actra-Rx or Yilishen because the supplements contain an ingredient that could lower blood pressure to unsafe levels.

The FDA also instructed employees to block imports of the supplements, calling them ``dangerous ... and even life-threatening.'' The agency said the supplement bears the name Yilishen when it is imported from China and is sold as Actra-Rx within the United States.

Laura Alvey, an FDA spokeswoman, declined further comment saying the matter is under investigation that may lead to criminal or civil enforcement actions.

When the FDA in March 27, 1998 approved Viagra, the first pill to treat impotence, it warned consumers not to use the drug in combination with products containing nitrates to avoid worrisome lowering of blood pressure.

Because people buy Actra-Rx without a doctor's prescription, however, consumers receive no such warning.

Actra-Rx and Yilishen are promoted on Web sites as erectile dysfunction treatments that enhance men's sexual performance, the FDA said.

Despite an all-natural label, Actra-Rx capsules contain prescription strength levels of sildenafil, the active drug ingredient in Viagra, according to a letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to ``Sex, Lies and Niagra,'' published in the Feb. 4, 2004 issue of JAMA, chemical analyses found an average of 55 milligrams of sildenafil per capsule of Actra-Rx and Niagra Actra-Rx, another name under which the product has been sold.

``The use of such nonprescription substances may present health risks for individuals with contraindications to the use of sildenafil,'' wrote the authors.

Follow up testing by the FDA confirmed Actra-Rx contained prescription-strength levels of sildenafil.

The recommended dose for Viagra, produced by Pfizer, is 50 milligrams. Some men take as little as 25 mg. or as much as 100 mg.

A spokesman for Los Angeles-based Body Basics declined comment. The company's voicemail identifies them as manufacturer of Actra-Rx. The company's Web site continues to advertise Actra-Rx as a ``natural sexual enhancer'' available in starter kits of 10 pills for $78.99.

In June 2003, Pfizer filed a trademark infringement suit against Body Basics, which had been using the name Niagra to sell the supplement. The federal court, in a consent judgment, barred the company from using that name, said Bryant Haskins, director of corporate media relations at Pfizer.

According to the FDA, the sildenafil in Actra-Rx can interact with certain prescription drugs that contain nitrates or nitrates in illicit substances, significantly lowering blood pressure to unsafe levels.

Men at risk include those with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart disease. Those individuals use medications that contain nitrates and often suffer erectile dysfunction.

The FDA advised people who have taken Actra-Rx or Yilishen to stop using it and to consult a doctor regarding an alternate erectile dysfunction treatment.

[JohnRN]

Don't bother with such loonies. I've become used to almost horrifying tales of NORMAL teens using viagara to get an enhanced erection so that they can have sex for longer stretches of time.

Apparently, damage - even permanent - to their sexual organs is of no concern to these idiots. All I told them was "Great! See you at the physicians office by the time you are 25, with serious erectile dysfunction and penile implants!"

Apparently, they refuse to believe me when I tell them that erections lasting 3-4 hours are dangerous. They think they are some big studs.

Bully for them I say.

[BrianK]

Sheeesh just when I found a product that would allow me to keep my eyes open. Typically with an erection I had so much blood being put to good use that I didn't have enough to keep my eyelids supplied.

The only hazard I thought I had was with the extended time. I thought I had not done the deed & kept going back. I don't know in that situation if aging is a good thing or bad? Not complaining just hate the way my wife would run away screaming.