Pharmacology of sports med-CT-MS

Question 1

For what conditions are “performance enhancers” allowed in athletes?

Answer 1

1) Pain
- Acute and overuse injuries
- Muscle soreness

2) Exercise induced asthma

Question 2

What drugs for pain are allowed for athletes?

Answer 2

1) NSAIDS

2) Corticosteroids

Question 3

What drugs for asthma are allowed in athletes?

Answer 3

1) Albuterol (Salbutamol) => inhaled
- systemic use is banned as ergogenic, may increase muscle mass
2) Inhaled corticosteroids

Question 4

What are legal performance enhancers for athletes?

Answer 4

1) Creatine
2) Caffeine
3) Pseudoephedrine
4*) Methylphenidate (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine (Adderall)
- only for athletes who have demonstrated exhaustively they have ADD/ADHD

Question 5

How does creatinine enhance performance?

Answer 5

1) Combines with phosphate to be a donor for resynthesis of ATP
- Works therefore only for ATP dependent activities – short high intensity sprints (Sprinters, football players, weight lifters)

Question 6

How does pseudo ephedrine enhance performance?

Answer 6

1) Stimulant (nasal decongestant)

- Agitation probably limits usefulness as a performance aid

Question 7

What are the major performance enhancing drugs?

Answer 7

Beta blockers
Stimulants
Narcotics
Anabolic androgenic steroids
Bone marrow stimulants
Hormones

Question 8

How are beta blockers used illegally as performance enhancers?

Answer 8

• Used illegally in sports where suppression of heart rate could be an advantage
  
  • Shooting, archery, biathlon

Question 9

How are stimulants used illegally as performance enhancers?

Answer 9

Used by athletes for:

• Enhanced arousal
• Avoid/recover from fatigue
• Weight loss, especially in weight or image dependent sports

Question 10

What are the dangers of stimulants?

Answer 10

Sudden death
Heart arrhythmia
Anxiety, tremor, insomnia
Dependency
Impaired judgment, injury

Question 11

How are narcotics used illegally as performance enhancers?

Answer 11

Used by athletes to mask pain and allow competition with injury, and to ignore usual signals to stop
- Increased chance for injury, addiction

Question 12

How are anabolic steroids used illegally as performance enhancers?

Answer 12

Used by athletes for:

• Increased lean muscle mass
• Faster recovery
• Appearance

Question 13

What are the adverse side effects of anabolic steroids?

Answer 13

• Increased blood pressure, lowered HDL cholesterol leading to increased risk for MI and CVA
• Masculinization in women
• Testicular atrophy, impotence, infertility in men
• Premature closure of growth plates
• Acne
• Mood swings, aggressive behavior, psychosis

Question 14

How are bone marrow stimulants used illegally as performance enhancers?

Answer 14

Used by athletes to increase oxygen carrying capacity and therefore performance in endurance sports as alternative to blood doping

Question 15

What are the adverse drug effects of bone marrow stimulants?

Answer 15

Polycythemia
Sludging of blood
Multiorgan failure, stroke, death

Question 16

How are human growth factor/insulin like growth factor/insulin used illegally as performance enhancers?

Answer 16

• Improve strength
• Increase lean body mass
• Because they can’t be detected

Question 17

What are the adverse effects of human growth factor/insulin/insulin like growth factor?

Answer 17

Acromegaly
Induce diabetes
Insulin shock if insulin is not used very carefully