This week marks the fifth anniversary of the death of major league pitcher Steve Belcher. The Baltimore Orioles pitcher was 23 years old when he died during a spring training workout in February 2003 after taking diet pills containing ephedrine, the active ingredient in ephedra. (more…)

A federal appeals court has upheld a ban on the weight loss supplement ephedra issued by the Food and Drug Administration. The Colorado court’s decision overturned a ruling by a judge in Utah that temporarily overturned the ephedra ban. (more…)

A new study has found that doctors may be able to use a simple blood test to diagnose patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), a disease which causes high blood pressure in the lung arteries. Doctors are hopeful that the test may eliminate the need for more invasive procedures that were previously used to diagnose PPH and allow them to begin treating the disease sooner. (more…)

A Food and Drug Administration ban on herbal Fen Phen and other ephedra products will officially go into effect today. The FDA announced the ban on December 30, 2003, citing a risk of serious and potentially deadly side effects for consumers taking the herbal supplements. (more…)