What is phenylpropanolamine?
It’s an active ingredient found in some over-the-counter cold remedies and appetite suppressants. It is similar in structure to amphetamine and has been on the market for 50 years. • If PPA has been on the market for the last 50 years, how did the FDA come to decide the ingredient is now no longer safe to use? The FDA based its decision on a five-year study of men and women by scientists at Yale University. They reported that PPA was associated with a small, but significant increase in the risk of stroke among young women. The study found that women aged between 18 to 49 who took phenylpropanolamine as an appetite suppressant were as much as 15 times more likely than other women to suffer hemorrhagic stroke. Also, first-time users of PPA were three times as likely to suffer a stroke, although we don’t know why PPA sometimes temporarily raises blood pressure which is an effect that wanes as the body gets used to the drug. • Do we know if PPA has the same effect on women in other age gro
