msnbc.com: Anderson Cancer Center: Arthur D. Forman, MD: against aspartame http://www.msnbc.com/local/kprc/A257844.asp Health@msnbc.com Aspartame Might Be More Sour Than Sweet HOUSTON, 11:28 p.m. CST November 27, 2000 - Do you love diet soda or hot chocolate? What about fat-free yogurt or sugar-free gelatin? While those products might taste good and be less filling -- in the calorie department -- one M.D. Anderson Cancer Center neurologist is warning that some of them may not be good for you. Why? Because among the dozens of ingredients in these products is one called aspartame. "I think there's enough evidence to suggest this is not a good thing for folks," Dr. Arthur Forman told News2Houston. Forman believes that aspartame may cause several serious problems, such as headaches to seizures and irritability to birth defects. The doctor said that some studies, including one by Dr. John Olney from Washington University, shows that aspartame may be linked to brain tumors. But one of the least known side effects, an ironic one, is that aspartame, which is found in many diet foods, may increase your appetite. "Many patients find it stimulates the appetite," Forman said. Forman says that aspartame contains an amino acid called phenylalanine, which causes insulin to be released, triggering hunger. Some people are allergic to phenylalanine and can suffer brain damage and other complications if they take it. Aspartame also contains aspartic acid and methanol, which breaks down to formaldehyde in the body. Forman believes that pregnant women and children should not consume aspartame. "There are mechanisms to see this is causing serious problems for some folks," Forman said. "I don't recommend it for anyone, frankly." But FDA spokeswoman Sheryl Baylor says consuming aspartame is OK. "The FDA does believe it's safe," Baylor said. Baylor said that after the agency conducted studies on aspartame, it approved it, except for people who are allergic to phenylalanine. She acknowledged, however, that any substance can cause side effects. "We continue to look at the product and review complaints," Baylor said. For those concerned, Baylor and Forman suggest checking labels closely, because many products containing aspartame could surprise you, like some laxatives and children's vitamins. The FDA says that it is the law that if a product contains aspartame, it must be listed on the label. For More Information: Aspartame Toxicity Info Center http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/ Sugar Substitutes: Americans Opt for Sweetness and Lite http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fdsugar.html ********************************************************* http://www.petersons.com/sites/gradinc/83103010.html THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HOUSTON HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030 1-800-392-1611 (USA) / 1-713-792-6161 Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Program in Pharmacology Department of Integrative Biology, Pharmacology, and Physiology The University of Texas Medical School P.O. Box 20708 Houston, Texas 77225-0708 Telephone: 713-500-7502 Fax: 713-500-7455 http://www2.mdanderson.org/app/peoplefinder/details.cfm?emp=3074 Arthur D Forman adforman@audumla.mdacc.tmc.edu Associate Professor, Clinical Neuro-Oncology Department of Neuro-Oncology Mailing Address: 1515 Holcombe Blvd Box 0100 Houston, TX 77030 713/794-1286 Medical School: Hahnemann University School Of Medicine Internship: Hahnemann University School Of Medicine Residency: Brigham & Women's Hospital (Boston, MA, ) Radcliffe Infirmary (Oxford, , England ) Fellowship: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Degrees: MD, BA Board Certification: Neurology Clinical Interests: Neurologic effects of systemic cancer: I have interests in toxic effects of therapy, treatment of metastatic disease, stroke in cancer patients, migraines in cancer patients. Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory Clinical and research interests: Toxicity of therapy to the central nervous system Recent representative publications: Kudelka AP, Hasenburg A, Verschraegen CF, Edwards CL, Meyers CA, Varma D, Freedman RS, Forman A, Conrad CA, Grove W, Grothey A, Kavanagh JJ. Phase II study of intravenous CI-980 in patients with advanced platinum refractory epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Anti-Cancer Drugs 9:405-409, 1998. van Besien K, Ha CS, Murphy S, McLaughlin P, Rodriguez A, Amin K, Forman A, Romaguera J, Hagemeister F, Younes A, Bachier C, Saris A, Sobocinski KS, Cox JD, Cabanillas F. Risk factors, treatment, and outcome of central nervous system recurrence in adults with intermediate-grade and immunoblastic lymphoma. Blood 91:1178-1184, 1998. van Besien K, Forman A, Champlin RE: Central nervous system relaps of lymphoid malignancies in adults: The role of high-dose chemotherapy. Annals of Oncology, 8(6):515-524, 1997 Puduvalli VK, Sella A, Austin SG, Forman AD: Carpal tunnel syndrome associated with interleukin-2 therapy. Cancer 77(6):1189-1192, 1996 Kavanagh JJ, Kudelka AP de Leon CG, Tresukosol D, Hord M, Finnegan MB, Kim EE, Varma D, Forman AD, Cohen P, Edwards CL, Freedman RS, Verschraegen CF: Phase II study of docetaxel in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma refractory to platinum. Clin Can Res 2(5):837-843, 1996 Patel SR, Forman AD, Benjamin RS: High-dose ifosfamide induced exacerbation of peripheral neuropathy. JNCI 86:305-306, 1994 Specialty board certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Societies and organizations: American Academy of Neurology American Medical Association Texas Medical Association Texas Medical Foundation Harris County Medical Society Honors and awards: Upjohn Award, Oustanding Intern, 1977 Alpha Omega Alpha, 1975 CV Mosby Award, 1976 Honors in Anatomy and Oncology, 1976 American Cancer Society Summer Fellow, 1973 National Science Foundation Summer, 1966 Education and training: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY: Fellow, neuro-oncology, 1986-1988 Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA: Resident and fellow, neuropathology, 1984-1986 Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England: Senior registrar in neurology, 1983-1984 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA: Clinical fellow, neurophysiology, 1982-1983; Resident, neurology, 1979-1982 Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, PA: M.D., 1979 Forman AD. Re: Trends in reported incidence of primary malignant brain tumors in children in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1999 Apr 7;91(7):648-9. No abstract available. PMID: 10203289; UI: 99217952 Oncology (Huntingt) 1994 Apr;8(4):105-10; discussion 113, 116-7 Neurologic complications of cytokine therapy. Forman AD Department of Neuro-Oncology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. There have been surprisingly few controlled studies of the central nervous system actions of cytokines in humans, although many clinical trials have briefly reported side effects of these drugs. Clinical trials using cytokines have chiefly involved patients with cancer, often at an advanced stage, and prospective formal neurologic assessment has been infrequent. In patients with malignancy, a host of variables can confound neurologic evaluation, including nutritional status, metastatic deposits, metabolic derangements, effects of former treatments, and infection. The effects of the cytokines on the central nervous system are multiple and limit their clinical use. Careful prospective clinical study of these agents is essential and may yield insights into their functions in the CNS and increase their efficacy as clinical tools. PMID: 8003395, UI: 94271669 Food and Drug Administration Houston, Texas Local Contact: Sheryl Baylor Tel: 713-802-9095 x15 Fax: 713-802-0906