articles on energy drinks and seizures

Hi everyone.. here are 2 articles about energy drinks and seizures.. we were talking about these in chat tonight..I took the following information from Pub Med Central.

1-Epilepsy Beh. 2007 May;10(3):504-8. Epub 2007 Mar 8.

New-onset seizures in adults: possible association with consumption of popular energy drinks

Iyadurai SJ, Chung SS.

Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ 58013, USA. Stanley.Iyadurai@chw.edu

Energy drinks contain a mixture of compounds, of which caffeine, guarana, and herbal supplements such as ginkgo and ginseng are major components. Survey of popular literature reveals anecdotal observations of adverse events associated with consumption of energy drinks. However, there are no reported cases in the published literature. We report a series of four patients who had discrete seizures on multiple occasions, following heavy consumption of energy drinks. Once the patients were abstinent from the energy drinks, no recurrent seizures were reported. We propose that the large consumption of energy drinks rich in caffeine, taurine, and guarana seed extract could have provoked these seizures.

2- J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2008 May-Jun;48(3):e55-63; quiz e64-7. Safety issues associated with commercially available energy drinks.

College of Pharmacy-West Palm Beach, Nova Southeastern University, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410, USA. clauson@nova.edu

OBJECTIVE: To describe benefits and adverse effects associated with the consumption of energy drinks. DATA SOURCES: Searches were conducted using Medline, IPA (International Pharmaceutical Abstracts), EMBASE, and MANTIS; databases such as Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, Natural Standard, ALTMEDEX, and AltHealthWatch; and Google (range 1980 to September 2007). Search terms included energy drink, Red Bull, caffeine, glucose, ginseng, guarana, taurine, and bitter orange. DATA SYNTHESIS: Most energy drinks contain natural products such as guarana, ginseng, and taurine. As much as 80 to 300 mg of caffeine and 35 grams of processed sugar per 8-ounce serving are commonly present in energy drinks such as Cocaine, Pimp Juice, Red Bull, and Spike Shooter. No reports were identified of negative effects associated with taurine, ginseng, and guarana used in the amounts found in most energy drinks. Commonly reported adverse effects seen with caffeine in the quantities present in most energy drinks are insomnia, nervousness, headache, and tachycardia. Four documented case reports of caffeine-associated deaths were found, as well as four separate cases of seizures associated with the consumption of energy drinks. CONCLUSION: The amounts of guarana, taurine, and ginseng found in popular energy drinks are far below the amounts expected to deliver either therapeutic benefits or adverse events. However, caffeine and sugar are present in amounts known to cause a variety of adverse health effects.

 Hope this helps,

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