IN A REPORT DATED APRIL 20, 1995, WRITTEN WITH THE LETTERHEAD OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, THE REPORT ENTITLED "SYMPTOMS ATTRIBUTED TO ASPARTAME IN COMPLAINTS SUBMITTED TO THE FDA", THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS ARE LISTED. NOTE THAT THERE ARE TWO REPORTS HERE. THE FIRST REPORT LISTS SYMPTOMS REPORTED OVER 100 TIMES AND LUMPS THE REMAINDER TOGETHER UNDER THE HEADING OF "SYMPTOMS REPORTED BY LESS THAN 100 COMPLAINTS". THE NEXT REPORT LISTS 92 SEPARATE SYMPTOMS, AS CATEGORIZED BY THE FDA ACCORDING TO THEIR CRITERIA IN CATEGORIZING SUCH COMPLAINTS. ONE RESULT OF THE THIS CATALOGING IS THAT SEIZURES - ONE MAJOR CONCERN ASSOCIATED WITH ASPARTAME CONSUMPTION, ARE BROKEN DOWN INTO AT LEAST FIVE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. THUS WE HAVE LISTED 291 REPORTS OF "SEIZURES AND CONVULSIONS", 174 REPORTS OF "GRAND MAL", 26 REPORTS OF "PETIT MAL", 10 REPORTS OF "SIMPLE PARTIAL SEIZURES", AND 4 REPORTS OF "COMPLEX PARTIAL SEIZURES". THIS RAISES THE NUMBER OF REPORTS WHICH MIGHT BE CLASSIFIED AS "SEIZURES AND CONVULSIONS" TO AT LEAST 505, MAKING THOSE REPORTS INTO AROUND 19.4% OF THE TOTAL REPORTS FILED IN THIS PARTICULAR COLLECTION OF COMPLAINTS.

ANOTHER NOTABLE ELEMENT IS THAT IN THE FIRST REPORT, HEADACHES ARE LISTED AS HAVING BEEN REPORTED 1847 TIMES AND IN THE SECOND REPORT 1862 TIMES. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE EXPLANATION FOR THAT DISCREPANCY IS.

THIS REPORT WAS GOTTEN WITH THE AID OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. THE FDA DID NOT WANT TO GIVE IT UP FREELY OR EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE ITS EXISTENCE.

REPORTED SYMPTOMS

NO. OF COMPLAINTS

% OF REPORTS

% OF COMPLAINTS

HEADACHE

1847

21.1%

19.0%

DIZZINESS/POOR EQUALIBRIUM

735

11.2%

7.5%

CHANGE OF MOOD

656

10.0%

6.7%

VOMITING OR NAUSEA

647

9.8%

6.6%

ABDOMINAL PAIN AND CRAMPS

483

6.9%

4.7%

CHANGE IN VISION

362

5.5%

3.7%

DIARRHEA

330

5.0%

3.4%

SEIZURES AND CONVULSIONS

290

4.4%

3.0%

MEMORY LOSS

255

3.9%

2.6%

FATIGUE,WEAKNESS

242

3.7%

2.5%

OTHER NEUROLOGICAL

230

3.5%

2.4%

RASH

226

3.4%

2.3%

SLEEP PROBLEMS

201

3.1%

2.1%

HIVES

191

2.9%

2.0%

CHANGE IN HEART RATE

185

2.8%

1.9%

ITCHING

175

2.7%

1.8%

GRAN MAL

174

2.6%

1.8%

NUMBNESS, TINGLING

172

2.6%

1.8%

LOCAL SWELLING

114

1.7%

1.2%

CHANGE IN ACTIVITY LEVEL

113

1.7%

1.2%

DIFFICULTY BREATHING

112

1.7%

1.2%

ORAL SENSORY CHANGES

108

1.6%

1.1%

CHANGE IN MENSTRUAL PATTERN

107

1.6%

1.1%

SYMPTOMS REPORTED BY LESS THAN 100 COMPLAINTS

1812

 --------

18.6%

THE FOLLOWING IS THE COMPLETE LIST OF ALL 92 SYMPTOMS REPORTED TO THE FDA IN 1995, LISTED IN ORDER OF VOLUME OF REPORTS.

  1.     1862  28.28%  19.03%  HEADACHE
  2.      737   11.19%   7.53%  DIZZINESS OR PROBLEMS WITH BALANCE
  3.      656    9.96%   6.70%  CHANGE IN MOOD QUALITY OR LEVEL
  4.      651    9.88%   6.65%  VOMITING AND NAUSEA
  5.      457    6.94%   4.67%  ABDOMINAL PAINS AND CRAMPS
  6.      364    5.52%   3.72%  CHANGE IN VISION
  7.      331    5.02%   3.38%  DIARRHEA
  8.      291    4.42%   2.97%  SEIZURES AND CONVULSIONS
  9.      256    3.88%   2.61%  MEMORY LOSS
  10.      242    3.67%   2.47%  FATIGUE, WEAKNESS
  11.      230    3.49%   2.35%  OTHER NEUROLOGICAL
  12.      226    3.43%   2.31%  RASH
  13.      201    3.05%   2.05%  SLEEP PROBLEMS
  14.      191    2.90%   1.95%  HIVES
  15.      186    2.82%   1.90%  CHANGE IN HEART RATE
  16.      175    2.65%   1.78%  ITCHING
  17.      174    2.64%   1.77%  CHANGE IN SENSATION (NUMBNESS, TINGLING)
  18.      174    2.64%   1.77%  GRAND MAL
  19.      115    1.74%   1.17%  LOCAL SWELLING
  20.      114    1.73%   1.16%  CHANGE IN ACTIVITY LEVEL
  21.      112    1.70%   1.24%  DIFFICULTY BREATHING
  22.      108    1.64%   1.10%  ORAL SENSORY CHANGES
  23.      107    1.62%   1.09%  CHANGE IN MENSTRUAL PATTERN
  24.      100    1.51%   1.02%  OTHER SKIN
  25.       98    1.48%   1.00%  OTHER
  26.       93    1.41%   0.95%  LOCALIZED PAIN AND TENDERNESS
  27.       91    1.38%   0.93%  OTHER UROGENITAL
  28.       74    1.12%   0.75%  CHANGE IN BODY TEMPERATURE
  29.       74    1.03%   0.75%  DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING
  30.       68    1.03%   0.69%  OTHER METABOLIC
  31.       67    1.01%   0.68%  JOINT AND BONE PAIN
  32.       66    1.00%   0.67%  SPEECH IMPAIRMENT
  33.       59    0.89%   0.60%  OTHER GASTROINTESTINAL
  34.       57    0.86%   0.58%  CHEST PAIN
  35.       51    0.77%   0.52%  OTHER MUSCULO-SKELETAL
  36.       50    0.75%   0.51%  FAINTING
  37.       43    0.65%   0.43%  SORE THROAT
  38.       43    0.65%   0.43%  OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR
  39.       39    0.59%   0.39%  CHANGE IN TASTE
  40.       37    0.56%   0.37%  DIFFICULTY WITH URINATION
  41.       37    0.56%   0.37%  OTHER RESPIRATORY
  42.       36    0.54%   0.36%  EDEMA
  43.       36    0.54%   0.36%  CHANGE IN HEARING
  44.       35    0.53%   0.35%  ABDOMINAL SWELLING
  45.       30    0.45%   0.30%  CHANGE IN SALIVA OUTPUT
  46.       30    0.45%   0.30%  CHANGE IN URINE VOLUME
  47.       30    0.45%   0.30%  CHANGE IN RESPIRATION PATTERN
  48.       30    0.45%   0.30%  EYE IRRITATION
  49.       30    0.45%   0.30%  UNSPECIFIED
  50.       26    0.39%   0.26%  MUSCLE TREMORS
  51.       26    0.39%   0.26%  PETIT MAL
  52.       25    0.37%   0.25%  CHANGE IN APPETITE
  53.       22    0.33%   0.22%  CHANGE IN BODY WEIGHT
  54.       22    0.33%   0.22%  NOCTURNAL
  55.       20    0.30%   0.20%  CHANGE IN THIRST OR WATER INTAKE
  56.       18    0.27%   0.18%  UNCONSCIOUSNESS AND COMA
  57.       18    0.27%   0.18%  WHEEZING
  58.       16    0.24%   0.16%  CONSTIPATION
  59.       16    0.24%   0.16%  OTHER EXTREMITY PAIN
  60.       16    0.24%   0.16%  PROBLEMS WITH BLEEDING
  61.       15    0.22%   0.15%  UNSTEADY GAIT
  62.       15    0.22%   0.15%  COUGHING
  63.       15    0.22%   0.15%  BLOOD GLUCOSE DISORDERS
  64.       14    0.21%   0.14%  BLOOD PRESSURE CHANGES
  65.       14    0.21%   0.14%  CHANGES IN SKIN AND NAIL COLORATION
  66.       13    0.19%   0.13%  CHANGE IN HAIR OR NAILS
  67.       11    0.16%   0.11%  EXCESSIVE PHLEGM PRODUCTION
  68.       10    0.15%   0.10%  SINUS PROBLEMS
  69.       10    0.15%   0.10%  SIMPLE PARTIAL SEIZURES
  70.         8    0.12%   0.09%  HALLUCINATIONS
  71.         7    0.10%   0.07%  ANY LUMPS PRESENT
  72.         6    0.09%   0.06%  SHORTNESS OF BREATH OR EXERTION
  73.         6    0.09%   0.06%  EVIDENCE OF BLOOD IN STOOL OR VOMIT
  74.         5    0.07%   0.05%  DYSMENORRHEA
  75.         4    0.06%   0.04%  DENTAL PROBLEMS
  76.         4    0.06%   0.04%  CHANGES IN SMELL
  77.         4    0.06%   0.04%  DEATH
  78.         4    0.06%   0.04%  OTHER BLOOD AND LYMPHATIC
  79.         4    0.06%   0.04%  ECZEMA
  80.         4    0.06%   0.04%  COMPLEX PARTIAL SEIZURES
  81.         3    0.04%   0.03%  SWOLLEN LYMPH NODES
  82.         3    0.04%   0.03%  HEMATURIA
  83.         2    0.03%   0.02%  SHORTNESS OF BREATH DUE TO POSITION
  84.         2    0.03%   0.02%  DIFFICULTIES WITH PREGNANCY
  85.         2    0.03%   0.02%  (CHILDREN ONLY) DEVELOPMENTAL RETARDATION
  86.         2    0.03%   0.02%  CHANGE IN BREAST SIZE OR TENDERNESS
  87.         1    0.01%   0.01%  ANEMIA
  88.         1    0.01%   0.01%  CHANGE IN SEXUAL FUNCTION
  89.         1    0.01%   0.01%  SHOCK
  90.         1    0.01%   0.01%  CONJUNCTIVITIS
  91.         1    0.01%   0.01%  DILATING EYES
  92.         1    0.01%   0.01%  FEBRILE