From the ArcaMax Publishing, News & Features Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/newsheadlines/s-575172-738652
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Investigators found the powerful anesthetic drug
Diprivan in pop icon Michael Jackson's Los Angeles home, ABC News
reported.
Diprivan, also known by the generic name propofol, was one of many
medications found in Jackson's home, sources told ABC. The drugs had
been prescribed by multiple doctors to multiple patient names, some
believed to be aliases, the network said.
The reported discovery of Diprivan comes after nurse Cherilyn Lee, who
had worked as a nutritionist for Jackson, told reporters he had been
asking for the drug in the days before his death last week at 50.
Lee has told CNN and other media outlets Jackson said he suffered
severe insomnia and pleaded for the drug, saying it helped him sleep.
Experts say Diprivan is not for insomnia and should normally be
administered only by IV in a hospital, typically before a medical
procedure.
ABC, citing unnamed emergency physicians, said the drug could have
caused respiratory depression and, ultimately, cardiac arrest if
Jackson used it for insomnia.
The drug, a white liquid, has been dubbed "milk of amnesia" because of
its potency as an anesthetic.
"Propofol is an agent that requires very close monitoring and is often
limited only to use by anesthesiologists," Dr. Richard Page, head of
cardiology at the University of Washington medical center, told ABC.
"The main issue with this agent is respiratory depression, which in
turn could cause cardiac arrest."
Toxicology test results on Jackson are not expected to be back for
several weeks.
The discovery follows reports the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
is investigating the possible involvement of drugs in Jackson's death.