SLIMMING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23002, 3 October 1936, Page 14

SLIMMING

DANGERS OF DRUGS EFFECTS ON EYESIGHT Women who attempt to slim through the use of drugs, especially one known as dinitrophenol, run a grave risk of developing serious eye trouble. Many women have developed cataracts after taking the drug, and some have died. An Auckland medical man who recently returned from the Pan-Pacific conference of surgeons at Honolulu quoted from an excellent paper on the dangers of the drug dinitrophenol, which was presented at the conference by Dr Harold F. Whalman, of Los Angeles, a leading eye specialist on the western coast of America. There was no question about the drug’s slimming powers,, said the Auckland doctor. Even with moderate dosage a person would lose from 11b to lslb a week, and probably more. The drug was considered so dangerous that the State Board of Health of San Francisco had prohibited its use, except by prescription by medical men. It had been proved definitely that the drug was causing cataracts to the eyes. It was so drastic that it burned up the tissues, particularly fat The drug was sold under 17 different names. In drawing conclusions from a lengthy study he had made of the effect of the drug on the eyes, Dr Whalman, the Californian specialist, said that his report presented to the conference comprised a study including about 100 cases which had occurred in California. “It is quite universally agreed that these cataracts form a new and distinct clinical entity as evidenced by the rapidity of development, the marked swelling of the lens, its bilateral occurrence and its incidence in any age group where cataracts are not ordinarily expected,” he said. “Itis a coincidence that all but one of these cases have been women and all relatively obese, although there are several in the series who were not of the obese type, and who took the drug merely to lose a few pounds.” “It is most disconcerting,” said Dr Whalman. "that these cataracts which are coming to the attention of eye specialists at the present time, are occurring many months after the drug has been discontinued, several on record having occurred 12 months later. It is my opinion that from a surgical standpoint the majority of these cases are best operated by the method of linear extraction, leaving a round pupil." With the exception of one or two instances, concluded Dr Whalman, all operative cases reported and in his own experience, had had excellent visual results, and there had been no damage observed to the other structures of the> eye.