Cold remedy 'stroke risk'

Some cold remedies may carry a hidden risk

An ingredient found in common cold remedies could increase the risk of strokes in young people, according to US experts.

Now an advisory panel has recommended that the main regulatory body, the Food and Drug Administration, should ban the sale of products containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA).

Although the increased risk of stokes in people aged between 18 and 49 is small, the FDA is likely to heed the advice of the panel.

In the UK, products containing the decongestant include well known brand Benylin Day & Night.

Product review

Manufacturers, Pfizer, have confirmed that they are reviewing their product lines in the UK in the light of the US recommendation.

"This is very, very new but we are already looking hard at products containing PPA," a spokesman said.

The UK's Department of Health has said that any decision the FDA makes will be reviewed by doctors in Britain.

"If there is any new evidence the Committee on Safety of Medicines will look at this," a spokesman told BBC News Online.

If there is any new evidence the Committee on Safety of Medicines will look at this

Department of Health

PPA is found in diet drugs sold in chemists, as well as cold remedies, because of its properties as an appetite suppressant as well as a decongestant.

The US advisory panel considered the results of a study from Yale School of Medicine.

It estimated that banning products containing PPA could prevent between 200 and 500 strokes a year among younger people.

According to the Stroke Association 10% of the 100,000 new cases of stoke every year in the UK occur in people under 55.