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Over-the-Counter Chromium and Renal Failure
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
TO THE EDITOR:
The recent letter by Wasser and colleagues [1] provides an incomplete interpretation of its subject. The letter clearly suggests that chromium picolinate was causally related to the renal failure. The authors gave serious consideration only to chromium picolinate as the possible etiologic agent and did not discuss other possibilities distinctly suggested by the facts presented.
The authors dismissively state that “the only other medications [the patient] received were antihypertensive agents.” They provide no information about which antihypertensive agents were used, whether changes in medication were made during the period under consideration, or the degree to which the hypertension was controlled.
The terse dismissal of other possible causes of renal failure is perplexing. Were the kidney-damaging effects of several antihypertensive agents, and hypertension itself, considered? An explanation other than chromium picolinate seems most likely given the following factors: absence of other published cases that causally relate oral chromium, in any form, to renal failure (MEDLINE search, 21 March 1997), the possible toxic effects of the unspecified antihypertensive agents, and the kidney-damaging effects of uncontrolled hypertension.
If these large gaps in information are not filled or if other etiologic factors confound the case, this report should not be considered to be evidence of renal toxic effects of chromium picolinate.
John N. Hathcock, PhD
Council for Responsible Nutrition; Washington, DC 20036
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
- Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians
