Lecture 7 - Drugs in sport

Question 1

What is WADA?

Answer 1

The World Anti-Doping Agency. Aim of bringing consistency to anti-doping policies and regulations within sport organizations and governments right across the world.

Question 2

What is strychnine?

Answer 2

A stimulant but poison.

Question 3

What is code compliance monitoring?

Answer 3

Overseeing acceptance, implementation and compliance of the Code, the core document that glues together than anti-doping policies, rules and regulations worldwide.

Question 4

What is drug doping?

Answer 4

The misuse of drugs in sport. Used to enhance performance. Some drugs banned in other sports and not banned in others.

Question 5

What in a non approved substance?

Answer 5

Not approved by the govt health authority for human use.

Question 6

What does doping include?

Answer 6

Anabolic steroids
Stimulants
Narcotics
Cannabinoids
Masking agents
Blood doping
Peptide hormones

Question 7

What is threshold vs prohibited?

Answer 7

Some drugs are prohibited completely.
Some drugs can be taken until a specific threshold.

Question 8

What are anabolic/androgenic steroids?

Answer 8

-Testosterone based

Anabolic - actions consist of inhibition of urinary nitrogen loss and stimulation of protein synthesis.
Androgenic - development and maintenance of sexual characteristics (women developing mens features)

Question 9

What do these drugs do?

Answer 9

These drugs are administered to increase skeletal muscle mass and physical strength whilst decreasing body fat.

Users may also be able to train harder and longer as they feel an increase in stamina.

Question 10

What are the side effects of anabolic steroids? (in men)

Answer 10

Fluid retention
Acne
Increased aggression
Mood changes
Painful injection site
Testicular atrophy (testes diminish in size with loss of function)
Erectile dysfunction - will usually come back after stopping the drug, but takes time. Can also change to women’s sex hormones in the liver - can cause problems at breasts for men.

Question 11

What are the side effects of anabolic steroids in women?

Answer 11

-Menstruation and fertility problems.
-Hair growth on the face and body, male baldness and deepening of the voice.
-Effects cannot be reversed if drug is stopped.

Question 12

What is hGH?

Answer 12

Human Growth Hormone.

Some effects on muscle growth but it also stimulates the release of insulin-like growth factors (a hormonal polypeptide) which is said to promote amino acid uptake and stimulate protein synthesis resulting in an increase in the diameter of muscle fibres.

As it is a peptide it needs to be injected into the body.

Question 13

What are the 4 major uses in hGH in sport?

Answer 13

To increase muscle mass and strength

To increase lean body mass

To improve the appearance of musculature

To increase final adult height

Also there are side effects which include skeletal changes, enlargement of fingers and toes, and enlargement of internal organs.

Question 14

What is blood doping?

Answer 14

An alternative method to the misuse of drugs to enhance sporting performance is to ‘boost blood’.

In essence these methods involve increasing oxygen levels in the blood, which in turn will boost performance and endurance of aerobic activities.

When the body’s total haemoglobin content decreases, exercise performance is impaired as a result

Question 15

What are the most common use of blood doping?

Answer 15

Methods of increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood have been explored and the most common methods include the use of:
- Iron supplements
- By ‘infusion’
- Altitude training

Question 16

How do the iron supplements work?

Answer 16

Attempt to increase haemoglobin concentration and in particular to prevent anaemia.

Treatments for anaemia include administration of iron supplements either by oral or IV injection.

Question 17

How does infusion work?

Answer 17

• By increasing the number of red blood cells in the body.
• Increasing the red blood cells will increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood and this leads to an increased endurance performance.
• One method of increasing the number of red blood cells is by infusion.
  It involves transfusion of whole or packed red blood cells and may be autologous (the subject’s own blood) or it may be homologous (another person’s blood.

Question 18

What is erthropoiesis?

Answer 18

Erythropoiesis is the natural production of red blood cells which takes place in the bone marrow. The process is stimulated by decreased oxygen concentration in the circulation which is detected in the kidneys.
The erythropoietin hormone is secreted which stimulates proliferation and differentiation of red blood cell precursors.

Question 19

How can erthropoiesis happen?

Answer 19

This process can be ‘created’ by taking a person to high altitude, where the oxygen levels are depleted.
At high altitude the barometric pressure decreases (hypobaric conditions) and there are less oxygen molecules in a given volume of air.

Thus the oxygen uptake by the lungs is lowered and less oxygen is delivered to tissue.

Question 20

What is rHuEPO?

Answer 20

The process of stimulating altitude training, by administrating human erythropoietin. This is illegal (altitude training isn’t).

Question 21

What happened in the case of Lance Armstrong?

Answer 21

• Now banned from cycling in international events.
• Disqualified from tour de france for doping offences by union cycliste int in 2021 for testing positive for the presence of steroidal performance enhancing drugs in 1999 when corticosteroid was detected in his urine.

Question 22

What happened in the case of Ben johnson?

Answer 22

• Was known as a ‘super human’ for his 100 m times becoming world/Olympic champion in 1980’s.
• His nemesis suspected drug use, and after his best run in 1988 in the Olympic games, at 9.79 secs, he tested positive for steroids.
• Was stripped of his gold medal.