Dietary Supplement Adverse Event Report Data From the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS), 2004-2013.

Background: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) oversees the safety of the nation's foods, dietary supplements, and cosmetic products.

Objective: To present a descriptive analysis of the 2004-2013 dietary supplement adverse event report (AER) data from CAERS and evaluate the 2006 Dietary Supplements and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act as pertaining to dietary supplements adverse events reporting.

Methods: We queried CAERS for data from the 2004-2013 AERs specifying at least 1 suspected dietary supplement product.

Scientific and Regulatory Perspectives in Herbal and Dietary Supplement Associated Hepatotoxicity in the United States.

In the United States (US), the risk of hepatotoxicity linked to the widespread use of certain herbal products has gained increased attention among regulatory scientists. Based on current US law, all dietary supplements sold domestically, including botanical supplements, are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a special category of foods. Under this designation, regulatory scientists do not routinely evaluate the efficacy of these products prior to their marketing, despite the content variability and phytochemical complexity that often characterizes them.

Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Events Related to Dietary Supplements.

Background: Dietary supplements, such as herbal or complementary nutritional products and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), are commonly used in the United States, yet national data on adverse effects are limited.

Methods: We used nationally representative surveillance data from 63 emergency departments obtained from 2004 through 2013 to describe visits to U.S.

Herbal products and supplemental nutrients used in the management of diabetes.

As companies, including large pharmaceutical houses, try to market supplemental nutrients and herbal products to ever-increasing numbers of consumers, diabetics will start to approach their physicians about these alternative remedies. A whole new industry know as "neutraceuticals" has evolved. This new industry is a combination of the vitamin supplement and herbal industries trying to work with regulatory agents to develop good manufacturing processes to ensure that consumers obtain good products.

Procedures and lifestyle changes that can enhance the lives of diabetic patients.

This article emphasizes to primary care physicians the importance of maintaining a diabetic patient's blood sugar level within the normal range. Additionally, it aims to impress on those who care for diabetic patients some of the adverse consequences of surgical and dental procedures that can be avoided by proper precautionary measures taken before the procedures.