Levensgevaarlijk die haargroei-middelen.

[pindakaas]

3 men die after using stimulant to make hair grow

Three men were reported to have died of heart failure some months after starting to use the same hair-growth stimulant, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry (Japan) said Friday.

However, the manufacturer of the stimulant, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., categorically denied any correlation between the product, RiUP, and the deaths.

The ministry also was negative about any correlation. "It's highly unlikely they died due to a side effect of RiUP," a ministry official said.

The official said the ministry would not instruct the manufacturer to publish an emergency safety bulletin or to take any other precautionary action.

The three men died between August 1999 and April 2000.

One man was in his 50s, another in his 60s and the age of the third was unknown.

They all complained of chest pains two to five months after starting to use RiUP.

One of the three had suffered from chronic heart disease.

Taisho said the company reported the men's deaths to the ministry between May and October 2000.

"We notified the ministry of the three deaths as they were reported by the families," a company spokesman said.

"Only a small amount of the growth stimulant, minoxidil, passes through the scalp into the blood. We see no scientific correlation between the ingredient and the deaths," he said.