Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports

• Joseph Kenny, MD

• Saturday, Dec 3, 2011

A little about the history, use, abuse, side effects and folklore of --

• Anabolic steroids• Stimulants• Human Growth Hormone• Erythropoietin

Full disclosure

• I have no financial conflicts to report

• All images used are either in the public domain, images that I created, or subject to the fair use exception

• All opinions expressed are my own

This presentation will have about as much FOLKLORE as it does

SCIENCE

Objectives

• Learn a little about the history of the four major classes of performance enhancing drugs

• Know the main physiologic effects of these drugs

• Understand the adverse effects of these drugs• Review common and not-so-common excuses

for failing a drug test in light of the physiology of the drugs

• "Because they are banned substances in sports, and because they are dangerous substances that can cause irreversible harm, it's not ethical to do true scientific studies of these medications as they actually are being used. So we are kind of stuck on the anecdotal experiences as far as what's going on with illicit use.“

• Marc Safran, Sportsmedicine, UCSF

Anabolic Steroids

• The Brown Sequard elixir 1889• May 1935, Testosterone is isolated• Dianabol 1958• The cream and the clear, 1999

Main effects of anabolic steroids

• Increase protein synthesis – build muscle• All have virilizing effects to some degree• Most popularly used steroids have a relatively

high anabolic:androgenic ratio• There is clearly a psychological effect as well –

increased aggression, appetite for competition and hard training

1889 – the Brown-Sequard Elixir

Pud Galvin

Dianobol 1958

Victor Conte

• Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (Balco)• Formerly bass player for the Tower of Power• Developed “the cream” and “the clear”• Pioneered “informational” drug testing

The cream and the clear

• The cream – A transdermal steroid preparation of testosterone and epitestosterone designed to evade detection

• The clear (tetrahydrogestrinone) was a new steroid designed by chemist/bodybuilder Patrick Arnold, also designed explicitly to evade detection

Anabolic Steroids side effects

• Men: Testicular shrinkage, oligospermia, impotence (HCG)

• Gynecomastia: tamoxifen• Women: Facial hair, deepening of voice,

shrinkage of breasts, menses disrupted• Both: Acne, hypertension, elevated

cholesterol, hypercoagulabillity

Chris Benoit

• Professional wrestler who killed his wife and son, 2007, then hung himself. He was using alprazolam, hydrocodone, and testosterone at the time.

Steroids for Cosmesis

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Debbie Clemens

Sylvester Stallone

Hulk Hogan

What do these three have in common?

Benzedrine inhaler, 1928

Main effects of amphetamine

• Lessened fatigue• Perception of more energy• Better ability to concentrate• Improved reaction time• Euphoria

Here I sitAll alone with a broken heart

Well, I took three benniesNow my semi truck won’t start

Need to be in Cincinnati Monday morning to draw my pay!

Take three more benniesThen PULL truck to Cincinnati

Side effects of amphetamine

• Aggression• Anxiety• Tachycardia, arrhythmia• Hallucinations, psychosis

Can you identify this individual?

He was an emergency room doctor

• Practiced in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 1970• Graduate of Northwestern Medical School• Married, father of two daughters• Daily user of amphetamine, which was

available in “candy bowls” to be taken ad lib by emergency room personnel

Human Growth Hormone

• Originally harvested from cadaver pituitary glands

• Recombinant HGH 1981• Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease in cadaver-derived

GH recipients in 1985; product removed from the market

• There are now at least six different manufacturers of recombinant HGH

Growth Hormone and Athletic Performance

• There is a stunning paucity of evidence that Growth Hormone helps athletic performance

• Nonetheless, anecdotal data suggest use is fairly widespread

• Goal is reduced fat and increased muscle• Testing is difficult; to date, very few positives

in testing

Side effects of HGH

• Arthritis• Diabetes• Big Jaw• Big Hands and Feet• Cardiomyopathy• Atherosclerosis

Andre Roussimoff

Blood Doping

• Can be done via homologous or autologous transfusion

• More commonly done via erythropoietin, darbopoietin, or CERA (PEGylated epo)

• High performance endurance athletes can likely tolerate very high hematocrit, nonetheless occasional death due to hyperviscosity

Tour of California

The Vengeful Massage Therapist

Justin Gatlin

Photosynthesis

• My carbon signature is plant - like

Floyd Landis

It was my oral contraceptive

• That’s why my testosterone to epitestosterone ratio is 400:1

Mary Decker

I am a chimera

It was my evil twin

Tyler Hamilton

My drink was spiked

• By one of my jealous rivals

Ben Johnson

My toothpaste was adulterated

• By a late night intruder

Dieter Baumann

It must have been contaminated beef

• That’s why I have nandrolone in my system

Petr Korda

I have narcolepsy

• That’s why I am on modafinil (and tetrahydrogestrinone and erythropoietin)

Kelli White

It was that male enhancement pill

• I am so embarrassed

LaShawn Merritt

I have a tumor

• That’s why I tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin

Brian Cushing