Cardinals team physician Dr. James Loomis said Tuesday that the deaths of Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer and Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler may have crystallized the debate about banning ephedra.
"It may be that''s what pushed it to the top of the stack to make it happen. But they''ve been thinking about this a long time," Loomis said.
"I think it was inevitable and I think it was overdue, and I don''t mean just in sports. Most of the deaths related to ephedra weren''t athletes. They were people using it to lose weight. The FDA has been talking about banning ephedra for a number of years. But the high-profile incidents pushed it into the forefront," Loomis said.
A push to ban the drug began years ago, Loomis emphasized, but required consent from the Major League Baseball Players Association. "We can give input and advice but we can''t mandate it. The players have to agree to it," said Loomis.
Loomis served as Rams team doctor for eight seasons and is entering his seventh season with the Cardinals.
"There are two issues. One is the safety of the players. Is it safe and what are the potential bad outcomes if players abuse the supplement? The second issue is that it''s cheating - not so much in major league baseball but in football. It''s looking to get an unfair advantage," said Loomis.
"It''s unlike drugs of abuse like pot or cocaine. It''s just cheating. In baseball, it was completely driven not from a performance-enhancement standpoint. Once that it''s metabolized, it''s like a low-grade amphetamine. There''s a rush of energy."
"We as an organization are pleased to see this become a national event," said Orioles vice president Mike Flanagan, adding, "We couldn''t be more pleased with how this is playing out."
Dr. Edward Geltman, medical director of the heart-failure program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, said Tuesday that he has been recommending for 15 years that his patients not take supplements with ephedra. Geltman said ephedra affects the body in much the same ways as adrenaline, a hormone that the body produces during times of fear or excitement.
"Both suppress the brain''s hunger centers," said Geltman, who also is a professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine. "When you''re running from a saber-tooth tiger or involved in battle, you don''t feel hungry. But when (ephedra) is used inappropriately, it can overstimulate the heart and the blood vessels."
The results, he said, can be high blood pressure, irregular heart rates, heart attacks and strokes. Geltman said he never had a patient who suffered the more serious effects, but some did develop anxiety and heart palpitations.
In June, the Illinois Legislature voted to ban ephedra-based supplements from store shelves. The products remained legal in Missouri, where state law prevents government agencies from enacting rules on food drugs that are more restrictive than federal rules.
General Nutrition Centers Inc., which has 40 stores in the bistate area, stopped selling supplements containing ephedra in June, said spokeswoman Jaime Young.