Growing richer blood by
Les Earnest
Recently discovered hormones offer the possibility of
increasing athletes' red cell count without resorting to transfusions
Originally published in
the January 1989 issue of Cyclops
USA
{Comments in braces, such as this, have been added in June
2006}
{In late 1988 when it
became evident that Amgen would soon release EPO as a prescription drug and I
was about to begin my second decade as a director of the United States Cycling
Federation (USCF), I wrote a letter to USCF Executive Director Jerry Lace pointing
out that this hormone would likely come into use among cyclists. I advocated
that a study be undertaken to determine if this could be done safely, with the idea
that it might supplant the messier blood boosting procedures that were then in
use. Mr. Lace subsequently confirmed that he had passed this advice along to
Now
that blood boosting has been banned, a new technology has appeared that may
offer the same benefits to athletic performance with less mess and, perhaps,
fewer risks. If it works out, this method might effectively circumvent the
potential advantages of traditional blood boosting and thus eliminate it as an
enforcement problem.
The
blood boosting scandal that stemmed from the 1984 Olympics provided a
remarkable example of unethical conduct by the USCF national coach, staff
physiologist, two team physicians and First Vice President. The scheming in
back of that sorry incident and the political machinations that followed are
adequately documented in earlier articles [1-3] and are also discussed in a
recent book [4] that is reviewed below.
Disclosures
of this incident brought to the public's attention the fact that international
competition in endurance events was becoming a bloody mess. It also tarnished
the public image of the USCF and led to reforms in Federation regulations that
were subsequently adopted by most other national and international athletic
governing bodies.
A
process has recently been developed for making hematopoietic
hormones, which can selectively stimulate either erythrocyte (red cell) or
leukocyte (white cell) development. A recent article [5] discusses the use of
these hormones for treating anemia and other disorders, but the possibility of
using them to elevate the red cell count of normal individuals in order to
enhance athletic performance has apparently not been tested so far.
There
is evidence that having a high red cell count, brought about either through
high altitude training or by blood boosting, can improve athletic performance.
It seems plausible that the same effect could also be brought about by the use
of the new hormones. If these hormones enhance red cell count in normal
individuals and have no nasty side effects, they would appear to be of
potential value not only to cyclists but to some other athletes as well.
If
this scheme works and is not banned by international athletic bodies, it would
have the likely beneficial effect of eliminating traditional blood boosting by
providing a better alternative. More research is called for to determine
potential benefits and side effects. Assessment projects are underway in the
USCF and USOC.
{Unfortunately, the final
statement above that “Assessment projects are underway in the USCF and USOC”, which
was based on assurances from USCF CEO Jerry Lace, turned out to be false. I believe that if the USOC or other national
or international sports organizations had investigated EPO in a timely manner
and had warned athletes of likely side effects, a number of cyclists and others
who used it to boost performance would not have died prematurely.}
References
[1]
Les Earnest, “Cardiovascular
capers,” Cyclops
[2] Wink Andanod, “Blood bath,”
Cyclops
[3] Les
Earnest, “Coors
is safer than tea,” Cyclops
[4]
David Prouty, In
spite of us, Velo-news,
[5]
D.W. Golde & J.C. Gasson,
“Hormones that Stimulate the Growth of Blood Cells,” Scientific American, July 1988.
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