Study: Solvent BD Addictive, Lethal

N E W   Y O R K, Jan. 10 -- Sipping industrial solvents may not be everyone's idea of a good time, but apparently the practice is on the rise, as a calorie-and-hangover-free-alcohol substitute gains favor at parties around the country.

When ingested, 1,4 Butanediol — the solvent in question — converts in the central nervous system into its chemical cousin, y-hydroxybutyrate, more commonly known as the date-rape drug, GHB.

But while substances such as GHB and its other precursor GBL are considered illegal substances by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, 1,4-butanediol is marketed not only as a solvent but also as a nutritional and body-building supplement, to enhance everything from sleep to sexual performance to muscle building and fat loss.

Available in products at gyms and health food and sports nutrition stores across the country, 1,4-butanediol, or BD, can also be concocted from recipes found online. The chemical is often listed on ingredient labels as tetramethylene glycol, butylene glycol or sucol-B, in products with brand names like Thunder Nectar, InnerG, Amino Flex, Rejuv+Nite, Liquid Gold, Thunder, Serenity, X-12 and N-Force.

Alarmed by the increase in emergency room visits related to BD, researchers in Minnesota, Texas and Florida set out to discover the solvent's health risks. Led by Dr. Deborah Zvosec of the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, researchers studied nine cases of toxic effects from 1,4-butanediol in eight patients reporting to their emergency departments from June through December of 1999.

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"1,4-Butanediol is toxic, addictive and potentially lethal," they concluded in a study published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "Although the long-term effects are poorly understood, frequent use of 1,4-butanediol can result in physical and psychological addiction and potentially severe withdrawal syndromes."

Patients took the drug either recreationally to get a buzz similar to alcohol, to enhance bodybuilding or to treat depression or insomnia and ingested doses ranging from one to 20 grams. The symptoms of BD overdoses included vomiting, incontinence, combativeness, decreased consciousness, respiratory depression and death in two of the study patients.