Chinese Herbal Medicine Significantly Impacts the Haematological Variables of the Athlete Biological Passport

In the fight against sports doping, the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) system aims to indirectly unveil the doping incidents by monitoring selected biomarkers; however, several unexplored extrinsic factors may dampen a fair interpretation of ABP profiles. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) plays a pivotal role in the health care system, and some remedies have a long history of being used to treat anaemia. In this study, we addressed the concerns of whether the CHM administration could yield a measurable effect on altering the ABP haematological variables. Forty-eight healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to receive two-week oral administration of one of the six selected CHM products that are commonly prescribed in Taiwan (eight subjects per group). Their blood variables were determined longitudinally in the phases of baseline, intervention, and recovery over 5 weeks. Blood collection and analyses were carried out in strict compliance with relevant operating guidelines. In the groups receiving Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Astragali Radix, and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, a significant increased reticulocyte percentage and decreased OFF-hr Score were manifested during the intervention, and such effects even sustained for a period of time after withdrawal. All other variables, including haemoglobin and Abnormal Blood Profile Score, did not generate statistical significance. Our results show that the use of CHM may impact the ABP haematological variables. As a consequence, we recommend athletes, particularly those who have been registered in the testing pool, should be aware of taking specific Chinese herbal-based treatment or supplementation, and document any of its usage on the anti-doping forms.

Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) in Sports: A Review

Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are an exciting group of molecules with pronounced anabolic effects and very weak to missing androgenic ones. This is due to the tissue selectivity they possess and is their big advantage over anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). As a result of this SARMs tend to be a big promise for improving the treatment process in different socially significant diseases such as osteoporosis, muscle wasting, benign prostatic hyperplasia, hypogonadism, sexual dysfunction, neurodegenerative diseases etc. SARMs are included in the prohibited list of World Anti-Doping agency (WADA) as they are a temptation for a lot of athletes regarding the exerted strong anabolic effect. However, as SARMs are freely available on the internet there are some reports for positive doping tests in professional sports connected with them. Still further research is needed to examine all the side effects of SARMs. Some of them may be harmful so both professional and amateur sportsmen, their coaches and doctors should be informed about this interesting topic. Keywords: SARM(s), anabolic effect, sports, doping, side effects

Evaluation of the knowledge about sports dentistry of the ULBRA-Torres dental school professors in the care of professional and amateur athletes

The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge about sports dentistry and the ability to care for athlete patients of the professors of the Dentistry Course of the Universidade Luterana do Brasil - Torres RS. A questionnaire with 11 closed questions was elaborated, in which the professors answered without making use of bibliographical material or any means of external consultation. The results showed that the knowledge about Sports Dentistry among the professors of the Universidade Luterana do Brasil - Torres Campus is quite varied, regarding the very existence of the area, the differentiation regarding the necessary care for the patient/athlete and sports doping. Keywords: Cirurgião dentist; Atleta; Odontologia Desportiva.

Strong, silent and stigmatized

The global lifetime prevalence rate of all image and performance enhancing drugs (IPED) is unknown, however it is 6.4% in men an 1.6% in women for anabolic androgenic steroids [1]. IPED are widely used in the bodybuilding scene and have found a bigger audience through social media platforms. Risk groups for IPED use are young men, leisure athletes, general gym goers, elite athletes and bodybuilders. The main drivers for IPED use are increased muscularity and performance. Abuse of performance enhancing drugs in elite sports (doping) is well recognized, however IPED abuse is a public health problem that is often overlooked and should be addressed by the medical community.

Court Practice Analysis in Cases of Doping in Sport

The paper is devoted to the study of the possibilities of developing conceptual approaches to create a legal definition of the concept of “sports-doping drug”. Foreign court practice is examined in order to identify legal positions that suggest ways to improve the definition of the concept of «sports doping». The author explains that in the field of preventing and eliminating the illegal use of doping in sport, the administrative potential of the current state regulation is exhaustive in the framework of the modern paradigm, it has limitations to improve the efficiency of administrative and restrictive measures. The paper describes a set of regulatory and empirical materials developed by the author to develop a theoretical framework for a homologated (for new challenges and requirements) legal definition of the term “sports doping agents”. The author gives a legal definition of this concept. The legislation of 33 foreign countries became the regulatory basis of the study. The court practice of 16 foreign countries became the empirical basis of the study. Based on the aforementioned regulatory and empirical foundations, using the methods indicated at the beginning of the paper, the author has developed an author’s conceptual and in-depth legal definition of the term “sports doping agents”, which can significantly improve state regulation in this field.

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION ZIC HILIC COULOMN FOR SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF FUROSEMIDE AND INDAPAMIDE AS DOPING

In sports, doping abuse done by athletes has been done since the 18th century. Many of the drugs used for doping and its chemical properties vary. Based on a list issued by the World Anti Doping Agency, one of the doping categories is diuretic. Then the most appropriate testing method is needed to seperation furosemide and indapamide. This study aims to see the development and validation of the separation furosemide and indapamide as doping compounds with High Performance Liquid using the Zic - HILIC column. This study used High Performance Liquid Chromatography of Shidmazu LC 20 AD brand with iso-fed pump and SPD 20A UV-Vis detector. The column used is Zic - HILIC (150 x 4.6 mm; 5 μm). This research is carried out on the optimization of conditions including mobile phase velocity, mobile phase pH, buffer of mobile phase, and buffer concentration. Selection of selected conditions see the price of R> 1.5 and N >>> or HETP <<<Optimized wavelength results 276 nm. The separation conditions of the furosemide and indapamide mixtures by HPLC using Zic-HILIC columns (150 x 4.6 mm, 5 μm) are Acetonitrile: Ammonium Acetate buffer (5 mM, pH 5) (95: 5) with a velocity of 0.5 ml / minute. The selected condition gives the given resolution value> 1.5 and the N price is the greatest. The method was than validated forSelectivity, linearity,accuracy, precision, limits ofdetection and limits ofquantification. The calibration curve of furosemide and indapamide were linear with a regression coefficient R > 0.999.