[HPFGU-OTChatter] Doping

[Andrew MacIan]

Greetings from Andrew!

Tangled webs, indeed....
--- davewitley <dfrankiswork at netscape.net> wrote:
{snip}
> 
> Is there any hard evidence that taking drugs
> actually improves 
> performance?  Or is it all just a myth, fostered by
> the legendary 
> superstition of athletes?
{snip}

Yes, there are instances.  Use of human growth factor
hormone (anabolic steroids) is rampant in
weight-lifting, and the use of EPO (erythropoietin) to
stimulate red blood cell growth is getting to a
similar level of abuse in the endurance sports.  In a
lot of of the latter, use of whole blood that is
hyper- oxygenated (and collected from the athlete it
is destined to be given back to) and/or packed red
cells has been observed as well.

In the case of the Russians who were DQ from the 4 x
5km race, the one story that I read had an interesting
twist.  It seems one woman was on her menses, and the
Russian team MD reported that her RBC count was low;
that's one very well-known effect, after all. 
However, when she was tested within the two-hour
pre-race period, her RBC turned out to be too
high...usually an indication of 'doping' by EPO or
transfusion.  In her case, given her reported
condition, I cannot understand how it would be high
absent intervention, let us say.

Cheers,

Drieux

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