The Food and Drug Administration warns consumers not to use or purchase supplement brand products. called Neptune’s fix after receiving multiple reports of severe reactions, including seizures and hospitalizations. The FDA said it is testing samples for illegal and harmful ingredients.
Neptune’s Fix supplement claims to contain tianeptine. opioid An alternative drug prescribed as an antidepressant in some countries in Latin America, Asia, and Europe.Tianeptine is not approved for use in the United States
The FDA previously warned about this “potentially dangerous” substance. To tell It has been linked to addiction and fatal overdose.
F.D.A.
Now, authorities are concerned that these products may also be laced with other substances, and are being sold illegally online and in retail stores such as gas stations and vape shops.
News of the FDA inspection comes less than a month after New Jersey health officials warned that they had identified a cluster of poisonings linked to tianeptine products, including Neptune’s Fix.
More than half of patients had seizures after consuming the product, according to the state health department. Said. Some people required hospitalization. Some people came to the hospital with a variety of serious symptoms, including hallucinations and vomiting.
New Jersey’s Poison Control Center has received 23 calls for tianeptine since June 17, more than half of them for products sold under the Neptune’s Fix brand, said Dalya Ewais of the state health department. he told CBS News.
“Products were purchased at gas stations, delis, vape stores, tobacco stores, convenience stores, and online. However, gas stations remain the most commonly reported purchase location,” Ewais said in an email. Ta.
It is unclear which other states have reported problems with Neptune’s Fix to the FDA or how long it will take for the FDA to test the product.
An FDA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Gas Station Heroin”
After the CDC, authorities have moved to crack down on other tianeptine supplements in recent years. Reported in 2018 Poison control centers say they are seeing an increase in calls regarding tianeptine abuse and drug withdrawal.
Nickname “Gas Station Heroin” Several states have taken steps to curb sales of the drug because it is widely available in convenience stores and other small retailers. Other brands of tianeptine that the FDA has previously warned about include Za Za and Tianna Red.
Florida Attorney General announced In response to efforts to tighten regulations on tianeptine, an emergency rule was issued in September that designated tianeptine as a Schedule I controlled substance in the state. Alabama, georgia, Indiana, kentucky, michigan, mississippi, Ohio and tennessee.
Federal prosecutors are also pursuing the company. smuggling and sale Tianeptine products in the United States
Emergency rooms have reported a surge in reports of users struggling with drug withdrawal in recent years, including after trying to pull the product from over-the-counter shelves.
Unlike common antidepressants, medicine It works by binding to the body’s mu-opioid receptors, causing effects that mimic opioid toxicity and withdrawal symptoms. Like other opioids, naloxone It is used to manage tianeptine overdose.
“Withdrawal symptoms were so severe, often accompanied by delirium requiring high doses of sedation, that we sent many people to the intensive care unit (ICU),” said Dr. William Rushton, chair of the Department of Toxicology at the University of Alabama. I had to put it in,” he said.Said it on the program post by the university.
