Brain damage after taking weight loss pills containing banned substances

On March 3, the representative of Bach Mai Hospital said that the patient was inherently healthy, but in the last month, a weight loss drug has been used for unknown origin, printed foreign letters, bought on social networks. After that, the family discovered her in a state of unconsciousness, not responding when calling and taking to Bach Mai Hospital for emergency treatment.

The scan results show serious damage in the hills of the brain. The anti -toxic center has sent the patient’s medicine sample to the National Institute of Food Hygiene and Hygiene for analysis. The results show that the drug contains sibutramine – a substance used to treat obesity but have been banned due to the risk of poisoning, stroke and cardiovascular diseases.

After awake, the patient said he had bought this weight loss pills on Tiktok and used it more than a month, a tablet a day. While taking medicine and fasting, she lost 4-5 kg. Weight loss vials that patients use with foreign languages, no Vietnamese extra labels, advertise in English with the content “7 days decrease 7 kg”.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center, said that Sibutramine was once widely used to treat obesity but was banned in the US, Europe and Vietnam due to the risk of harm beyond interest. Large studies have shown that this drug increases the risk of stroke and serious cardiovascular complications.

In Vietnam, since 2010, the Drug Administration of Vietnam has stopped granting licenses to import Sibutramine raw materials, suspending circulation and recovery of all products containing this substance. Currently, sibutramine is on the list of banned substances used in the production and trading of health foods.

Dr. Nguyen emphasized that Sibutramine has a molecular structure similar to Amphetamine drug, an extremely dangerous substance. The anti -toxic center has received many cases of poisoning due to the use of functional foods, weight loss coffee containing sibutramine, including patients with coma, convulsions and brain damage. In addition to sibutramine, unknown weight loss products can contain other toxic substances such as phenolphthalein, high doses of caffeine, synephrine, … causing serious danger to the health of users.

To lose weight, people should go to the doctor or listen to advice from the doctor instructed, evaluated the status and specific measures for each person. The most common and safe way is to adjust the diet and enhance physical activity.