PEDs in sports

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Tony Manifold

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Since there has been an incredible amount of talk about PEDs in the discussions about Pacquiao, mayweather and Mosley. I thought I would research some facts about various Performance enhancing drugs. This will strictly be an information only thread. Please keep specific comments about indivudual athletes to the respective threads.

EPO
Erythropoietin (EPO) is an artificial hormone that allows the blood to carry more oxygen, thus boosting endurance. It is consider a method of blood doping which can increace the volume of blood which contains red blood cells. This will in turn increase an athletes VO2 max (aerobic capacity) allowing more oxygen to be transported to the muscles.

There are currently two tests for EPO. A urine test and a blood test. According to Dr. Don Catlin Who headed the Drug testing Lab for the Salt lake olympics, "[T]o be convicted of an EPO offense athletes must test positive for EPO with the urine EPO test [which] it is a direct test that detects the actual presence of recombinant EPO" There is also a blood test which tells "the testers that the athlete has an unusual blood profile that warrants further investigation." Prompting a Urine test. The test is only effective for use going back about a week.

Anabolic Steriods
Steroids are synthetic versions of the hormone Testosterone. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue (anabolism), especially in muscles. They also reduce recovery time allowing the athlete to train harder and more often.
Physical side effects can include premature baldness, "backne", develoment of breast tissue in males and of course shrunken testicles.
Testing is typically done through urinalysis. Depending on the steroid, the drug can stay in your system for as short as 4 days or as long as 18 months after use is stopped.

Human Growth hormone
HGH is a naturally occuring substance in you body which is most common in your growing years. It stimulates the growth of muscle, bone and cartilege.
Common physical side effects are acromegaly where the hands grow bigger and spade like, the facial bones can also grow. This often results in spaces growing between the teeth.
Because HGH is a natural substance it is incredible hard to test for. Right now the standard is a blood test.

Sources:
Drugs in Sports
EPO Drug Testing
Anabolic steroid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
HGH Test: HGH Testing
http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/QA_hGH_En.pdf
How long do steroids stay detectable in your system?
BBC SPORT | Human growth hormone explained
Drugs in sport-Key text
 
Going to go ahead and lock this. Good for the info, but we don't want any nonsensical debates.
 
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