Ischaemic stroke in a sportsman who consumed MaHuang extract and creatine monohydrate for body building

We report the first case of extensive cerebral infarct in a young sportsman consuming high doses of MaHuang extract and creatine monohydrate. This should alert the sport community to possible serious adverse effects of energy supplements. A 33 year old man had a severe aphasia on awakening in the morning of 23 January 1999. He did not complain of headache or of other symptoms. He was referred to our department on 26 January 1999. He had a Wernicke aphasia with a slight right sided face and arm weakness and a right Babinski sign. His blood pressure was 140/60 and his pulse 54 per minute. Brain CT showed signs of extensive left middle cerebral artery infarct. Cervical ultrasound duplex scanning and cerebral angiography were normal. Cerebral …