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(Newser)
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A woman who was worried about taking prescription statins to lower her cholesterol took red rice yeast supplements instead – and found herself with acute liver injury. After six weeks of using over-the-counter supplements, which contain the same chemical as statins to lower cholesterol (monacolin K), the 64-year-old Michigan woman has found herself at home. Hospital after developing several symptoms, including fatigue. bloating, dark urine, pale stools and jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin). The tests showed hepatic injury of drug origin, which doctors determined to be probably caused by the supplements. The problem? Supplements are not regulated by the FDA. "Taking a supplement often comes down to taking an unknown dose of active ingredient," says the chief investigator in HealthDay News.
As the researchers explain, it does not matter whether monacolin K is derived either synthetically (as for statins) or natural (as for red rice yeast supplements, which contain a mixture of rice fermented with steam and of food mushrooms), but all too often. of it can harm the liver, and the concentration used in the supplements "is not measured nor regulated, and can vary considerably", as have shown tests, says the principal investigator. Red rice yeast has already caused severe damage to the liver and its recovery may take months. In the case of this woman, she also reported drinking two glasses of red wine each night while taking the supplements; Drinking alcohol can increase the risk of liver damage with supplements, reports LiveScience. The woman received steroids and doctors told her to stop taking the supplement, according to her case report published this week in BMJ Case Reports. (The woman's turmeric supplement probably caused an unusual illness.)
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