Dietary Supplements Removed From Exchanges Due to Health Concerns Published Dec. 28, 2011 WASHINGTON -- One of the highest priorities of the Department of Defense (DoD) is the health of our Service members and their Families. DoD leadership recently became aware of reports involving two Soldier deaths and additional adverse health effects in some other US Service Members which may have been related to the use of dietary supplements containing DMAA (dimethylamylamine). These products include but are not limited to: Jack3D, OxyElite Pro, PreSurge Unleashed, and Muscle Spike. The DoD has implemented a temporary moratorium on the sales of products containing DMAA within military facilities. This will remain in effect pending further review of relevant scientific evidence and reported events. "We support the decision of the Military Exchanges and Commissaries to remove products containing DMAA from their shelves until we can make a further determination about the safety of this ingredient," said Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, Deputy Director, Force Health Protection and Readiness Programs, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness. DMAA is sold as a single supplement and in combination with multiple other ingredients. In particular, it is often combined with caffeine, a legal, natural stimulant. Stimulants may accelerate metabolism, heart rate, and blood pressure, which may increase the body's production of heat, especially in hot and humid conditions. "We are concerned about reports of heat illness, kidney, liver damage, and sudden death in service members who reportedly used products containing DMAA," Kilpatrick said. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs asked the Army Surgeon General and the Army Public Health Command, in collaboration with the Surgeons General of the other military services, to conduct a review of available scientific evidence and adverse event reports to better understand any potential relationship between DMAA and these events. Recommendations from this review will guide further decisions. "We take the health of our Service Members and Families very seriously, and believe this action is necessary as a precautionary measure until we can learn more," said LTG Patricia Horoho, Army Surgeon General. For more information, please visit DoD's Human Performance Resource Center at: http://humanperformanceresourcecenter.org/blog/products-containing-dmaa-gone-from-aafes-stores.