Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Health Watch, we’re talking about over-the-counter drugs and supplements. While there are some dietary supplements that help promote health, in some cases, a preparation you take to improve your health could cause serious damage.
Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center had patients who took hormonal supplement for building muscle or for sexual enhancement and then developed prostate cancer. The supplement also kept anti-cancer drugs from working. When analyzing the supplement, doctors found that it contained sex hormones not listed on the label or in amounts that differed from the label listings. Dr. Claus Roehrborn, chairman of urology at UT Southwestern, says doctors need to ask patients about supplements they’re taking because this can have a serious impact on patients’ health.
Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/urology to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical service in urology.
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March 2008
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