Doping In Athletes Research Articles

Linking Coach Interpersonal Style With Athlete Doping Intentions and Doping Use: A Prospective Study.

We brought together various lines of work on motivation, morality, and doping by testing a theory-based model prospectively linking contextual and personal motivational variables, moral attitudes, moral disengagement in doping, doping intentions, and doping use. Participants were 257 Greek athletes who completed a questionnaire pack at the beginning of a sport season. In the case of doping use, we also obtained data close to the end of the same season. The model showed that perceptions of controlling coach behaviors predicted athlete need frustration, which in turn predicted low moral functioning and doping intentions/doping use. The findings highlight pathways (direct and indirect) by which the social environment may impact on athletes' intentions and decisions to engage in doping and could pave the way for future antidoping interventions aimed at improving coaching interpersonal style.

엘리트 운동선수의 한약 복용과 도핑에 대한 체육지도자와 한의사의 인식 조사

엘리트 운동선수의 한약 복용과 도핑에 대한 체육지도자와 한의사의 인식 조사

Are sponsors blamed for edging off? Consumer reactions to sponsorship terminations

Firms regularly terminate sponsorships, even without publicly known misconduct by the sponsee such as athlete doping. Consumer reactions to these sponsorship terminations by firms have not been studied despite being a regular occurrence. Using a set of experimental studies, this paper analyzes consumer reactions to these sponsorship terminations (i.e., early and non-renewal) that were not caused by a sponsee’s misconduct, the underlying process that causes the reactions, and the role of several moderating factors (trust, power balance, and locus of control). Our findings reveal that sponsorship terminations have a negative effect on sponsors’ brand images—particularly early terminations that occur before the end of a contract—because consumers perceive these sponsorship terminations as unfair. The results also suggest that a termination is particularly harmful for the sponsor’s perceived fairness if the sponsor is powerful and if the termination decision is under the sponsor’s control. Further, the termination effect is particularly strong for firms that consumers trust.

How athletes conceptualise doping, winning, and consequences: insights from using the cognitive interviewing technique with the Goldman dilemma

Theorising on athlete doping has tended to focus on the creation of deductive models. Such models make assumptions on the ways in which athletes conceptualise issues surrounding doping. This is problematic if reality does not match these postulations. While efforts have been made to understand athletes’ perspectives on and attitudes towards doping via qualitative research design, there has been little attempt to inductively develop theory on athlete doping. In this study, this deficiency is addressed using the cognitive interviewing technique to understand how athletes conceptualise doping. Cognitive interviewing is typically used to assess question comprehension. However, we used it as a means to dissect how athletes’ conceptualise of doping by applying it to variants of a popular thought experiment – the Goldman dilemma. Thirty highly competitive athletes participated in the study and a rich data-set was obtained where athletes described their thoughts and interpretations of doping and related issues. The findings yielded a web of relationship that provides a nuanced account of doping that departs from standard deductive models. The model presented offers a more dynamical account for how athletes think about doping, which has direct implications for anti-doping policy-makers. The outcomes of the study demonstrate the effectiveness of cognitive interviewing as a method that enables inductive theory development on a complex and controversial sport issue.

Meldonium

Meldonium

Protective effects of kolaviron and gallic acid against cobalt-chloride-induced cardiorenal dysfunction via suppression of oxidative stress and activation of the ERK signaling pathway.

Cobalt (Co) toxicity is a potential public health problem due to recent renewed use of Co in orthopedic implants, dietary supplements, and blood doping in athletes and horses. We investigated the protective roles of kolaviron (KV), a bi-flavonoid of Garcinia kola, and gallic acid (GA) on cobalt chloride (CoCl2)-induced cardiorenal damage in rats. CoCl2 caused significant increases (p < 0.05) in serum creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate transaminase (AST), xanthine oxidase (XO), urea, creatinine, malondialdehyde, H2O2, nitric oxide, as well as C-reactive protein expression, along with significant (p < 0.05) reduction in cardiac and renal expression of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) and the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione S-transferase. KV and GA prevented the toxic effects of CoCl2 by stimulating ERK expression and reversing Co-induced biochemical changes. Administration of CoCl2 alone did not significantly alter ECG patterns in the rats, although co-treatment with KV (200 mg/kg) produced QT-segment prolongation and also appeared to potentiate Co hypotension. Histopathology of the heart and kidneys of rats treated with KV and GA confirmed the biochemical data. KV and GA thus protected against cardiac and renal damage in Co intoxication via antioxidant and (or) cell survival mechanisms, possibly involving ERK activation.

Perfectionism and attitudes towards doping in junior athletes

Recent theory and research suggest that perfectionism is a personal factor contributing to athletes’ vulnerability to doping (using banned substances/drugs to enhance sporting performance). So far, however, no study has examined what aspects of perfectionism suggest a vulnerability in junior athletes. Employing a cross-sectional design, this study examined perfectionism and attitudes towards doping in 129 male junior athletes (mean age 17.3 years) differentiating four aspects of perfectionism: perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, parental pressure to be perfect, and coach pressure to be perfect. In the bivariate correlations, only parental pressure showed a positive relationship with positive doping attitudes. In a multiple regression analysis controlling for the overlap between the four aspects, perfectionistic strivings additionally showed a negative relationship. Moreover, a structural equation model examining the relationships between all variables suggested that coach pressure had a negative indirect effect on attitudes towards doping via perfectionistic strivings. The findings indicate that perceived parental pressure to be perfect may be a factor contributing to junior athletes’ vulnerability to doping, whereas perfectionistic strivings may be a protective factor.

High altitude, prolonged exercise, and the athlete biological passport.

The Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) detects blood doping in athletes through longitudinal monitoring of erythropoietic markers. Mathematical algorithms are used to define individual reference ranges for these markers for each athlete. It is unclear if altitude and exercise can affect the variables included in these calculations in a way that the changes might be mistaken for blood manipulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the simultaneous strenuous exercise and low to high altitude exposure on the calculation algorithms of the ABP. 14 sea level (SL) and 11 altitude native (ALT) highly trained athletes participated in a 14-day cycling stage race taking place at an average altitude of 2496 m above sea level (min. 1014 m, max. 4120 m), race distances ranged between 96 and 227 km per day. ABP blood measures were taken on days -1,3,6,10,14 (SL) and -1,9,15 (ALT) of the race. Four results from three samples of two different SL athletes exceeded the individual limits at the 99% specificity threshold and one value at 99.9%. In ALT, three results from three samples of three different athletes were beyond the individual limits at 99%, one at 99.9%. The variations could be explained by the expected physiological reaction to exercise and altitude. In summary, the abnormalities observed in the haematological ABP´s of well-trained athletes during extensive exercise at altitude are limited and in line with expected physiological changes.

Gene doping in sport - perspectives and risks.

In the past few years considerable progress regarding the knowledge of the human genome map has been achieved. As a result, attempts to use gene therapy in patients’ management are more and more often undertaken. The aim of gene therapy is to replace defective genes in vivo and/or to promote the long-term endogenous synthesis of deficient protein. In vitro studies improve the production of human recombinant proteins, such as insulin (INS), growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and erythropoietin (EPO), which could have therapeutic application. Unfortunately, genetic methods developed for therapeutic purposes are increasingly being used in competitive sports. Some new substances (e.g., antibodies against myostatin or myostatin blockers) might be used in gene doping in athletes. The use of these substances may cause an increase of body weight and muscle mass and a significant improvement of muscle strength. Although it is proven that uncontrolled manipulation of genetic material and/or the introduction of recombinant proteins may be associated with health risks, athletes are increasingly turning to banned gene doping. At the same time, anti-doping research is undertaken in many laboratories around the world to try to develop and refine ever newer techniques for gene doping detection in sport. Thanks to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and other sports organizations there is a hope for real protection of athletes from adverse health effects of gene doping, which at the same time gives a chance to sustain the idea of fair play in sport.

French speaking athletes’ experience and perception regarding the whereabouts reporting system and therapeutic use exemptions

The introduction of two anti-doping measures by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) directly affects athletes lives: obligatory whereabouts reporting with the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS), and recorded applications for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). French-speaking elite athletes (N=69) from France, Belgium and Switzerland responded to a web-based questionnaire about their perceptions and experiences under these two measures. The results showed a strong ambivalence towards the whereabouts system. Though 94% considered it necessary, and accepted it as part of an athlete's duties, 34% considered that it infringed too much on their private life, 54% felt that it reduced the pleasure of being an athlete, 74% felt to be under surveillance, 54% found it too time-consuming, 57% encountered technical hurdles, and 58% perceived its application between different countries and sports as unequal and unfair. Many athletes did not like the testing procedures and more than half felt that it causes anxiety. Trust in the system's capacity to detect doping in athletes was partial (83% of athletes under the whereabouts system trusted it, and 60% of athletes not under the system trusted it). Concerning the management of TUEs, 49% of athletes had low trust in their management by authorities, 47% suspected abuse by fellow athletes and 46% had refrained from medically justified treatment. Our findings suggest considerable dissatisfaction with the whereabouts system and TUE among French-speaking athletes. We conclude that there is a need to improve on the above aspects in order to increase athletes’ satisfaction and adherence to WADA's anti-doping policies.

Drug abuse in athletes.

Drug abuse occurs in all sports and at most levels of competition. Athletic life may lead to drug abuse for a number of reasons, including for performance enhancement, to self-treat otherwise untreated mental illness, and to deal with stressors, such as pressure to perform, injuries, physical pain, and retirement from sport. This review examines the history of doping in athletes, the effects of different classes of substances used for doping, side effects of doping, the role of anti-doping organizations, and treatment of affected athletes. Doping goes back to ancient times, prior to the development of organized sports. Performance-enhancing drugs have continued to evolve, with “advances” in doping strategies driven by improved drug testing detection methods and advances in scientific research that can lead to the discovery and use of substances that may later be banned. Many sports organizations have come to ban the use of performance-enhancing drugs and have very strict consequences for people caught using them. There is variable evidence for the performance-enhancing effects and side effects of the various substances that are used for doping. Drug abuse in athletes should be addressed with preventive measures, education, motivational interviewing, and, when indicated, pharmacologic interventions.

Physicians and the Sports Doping Epidemic

Physician-assisted doping of athletes has transformed high-performance sport into a chronically overmedicated subculture and spread so-called hormonal rejuvenation to the general public.

Physicians and the Sports Doping Epidemic

Physician-assisted doping of athletes has transformed high-performance sport into a chronically overmedicated subculture and spread so-called hormonal rejuvenation to the general public.

The doping mindset—Part I: Implications of the Functional Use Theory on mental representations of doping

Doping is typically referred to by some legal/moral heuristics, labelling the activity illegal and unfair, and condemning doping users as cheats and rogues. Whilst these heuristics accurately reflect the general social norms and the official stance, qualitative research suggests that they may be in conflict with the way doping user athletes think, seeing doping as a morally questionable but effective means to achieving performance goals. Congruently, quantitative studies show that athletes’ mental representations of doping are more closely aligned with substances representing functionality than legality, and they follow the behavioural pathways athletes choose with regard to doping use and revealing information about it. As long as the dominant quantitative research paradigm follows the legal/moral route, the incongruence between reality and the faulty assumptions about reality limits the ecological validity of the research findings. This concept paper argues for progressing quantitative social cognition research with new models, measurement tools and methodologies that shift away from the dominance of moralistic frames. To facilitate this progress, two inter-related conceptual models are proposed. The first is an incremental-functional model of doping to reflect the motivated, goal-driven and progressive nature of athletes’ involvement in performance enhancing practices. The second is a model of an athlete doping mindset which conceptualises the link between the goal as performance enhancement and the functional and moral aspects of doping as purposive, goal-driven behaviour to enable empirical testing. Quantitative investigations into doping-related social cognition should capture the moral-functional duality and acknowledge functionality to make meaningful contributions to anti-doping efforts.

Choice of law in the court of arbitration for sport: overview, critical analysis and potential improvements

At the time of writing this article, the All Blacks had won the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Andre Agassi had released his controversial autobiography, FC Bayern Munchen had just lost to Chelsea FC in the UEFA Champions League Final, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were due to head off in the final of the Italian Open, and athletes and fans all over the world were eagerly awaiting the London 2012 Olympics. Whether one realises it or not, sport permeates our lives on a daily basis. We are surrounded by it in the media, on the streets, in stores and the now international sport is causing the legal world to take notice. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is an international arbitral tribunal that settles international sports-related disputes such as breaches of employment contracts; eligibility, suspension, qualification and transfer of players; sponsorship and television rights disputes; disciplinary action and athlete doping, etc. These types of disputes will all be submitted to CAS if the contract between the parties contains an arbitration clause in favour of CAS, or if the statutes, rules or regulations of a sports-related body designate CAS as the appeal body of their decisions. The dispute is then designated to either the Ordinary Arbitration Division or the Appeal Arbitration Division for determination. Given CAS’s international dimension, it is necessary for CAS to first determine the governing law of the contract or dispute, before applying this law to the merits of the dispute. The Code of Sports Related Arbitration provides two “choice of law” rules for this purpose (the CAS Approach). I seek to comprehensively outline the CAS Approach for determining the governing law in both the Ordinary and Appeal Arbitration Divisions. I then seek to critically and comparatively analyse the CAS approach against the choice of law rules contained in EC Regulation No 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations 2008, and use this analysis as the basis for my suggestions for improvement to the CAS Approach.

Multiple protein biomarker assessment for recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) abuse in cattle.

Biomarker profiling, as a rapid screening approach for detection of hormone abuse, requires well selected candidate biomarkers and a thorough in vivo biomarker evaluation as previously done for detection of growth hormone doping in athletes. The bovine equivalent of growth hormone, called recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) is (il)legally administered to enhance milk production in dairy cows. In this study, first a generic sample pre-treatment and 4-plex flow cytometric immunoassay (FCIA) were developed for simultaneous measurement of four candidate biomarkers selected from literature: insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), its binding protein 2 (IGFBP2), osteocalcin and endogenously produced antibodies against rbST. Next, bovine serum samples from two extensive controlled rbST animal treatment studies were used for in vivo validation and biomarker evaluation. Finally, advanced statistic tools were tested for the assessment of biomarker combination quality aiming to correctly identify rbST-treated animals. The statistical prediction tool k-nearest neighbours using a combination of the biomarkers osteocalcin and endogenously produced antibodies against rbST proved to be very reliable and correctly predicted 95% of the treated samples starting from the second rbST injection until the end of the treatment period and even thereafter. With the same biomarker combination, only 12% of untreated animals appeared false-positive. This reliability meets the requirements of Commission Decision 2002/657/EC for screening methods in veterinary control. From the results of this multidisciplinary study, it is concluded that the osteocalcin – anti-rbST-antibodies combination represent fit-for-purpose biomarkers for screening of rbST abuse in dairy cattle and can be reliably measured in both the developed 4-plex FCIA as well as in a cost-effective 2-plex microsphere-based binding assay. This screening method can be incorporated in routine veterinary monitoring programmes: in the European Union for detection of rbST abuse and in the control of rbST-free dairy farms in the United States of America and other countries.

What Would Kim Do: A Choice Study of Projected Athlete Doping Considerations

This paper reports on an empirical discrete choice model of the factors influencing a hypothetical athlete’s deliberations around using prohibited performance enhancing substances (doping) developed from a sample of 259 elite Australian athletes (76% Australian, Worlds or Olympic). Kim was constructed as a gender neutral athlete at the same level and stage of career as the respondent. The results indicate athletes felt Kim would be more at risk of considering doping if convinced by a coach or senior athlete of disproportionate immediate gains to performance with little or no consequences (e.g., low risk of prosecution). Conversely, athletes indicated Kim was felt to be less inclined to consider doping if doping would be fatal, to achieve or maintain performance, large fines ($150,000) or no financial gain. The choice model also indicates elite athletes’ projections about doping considerations were rational in character. The implications for managing the role of drugs in sport suggest antidoping could be improved with precisely timed testing, changing incentive structures within sport, concealing test accuracy and publicly humiliating athletes caught doping.

How to confirm C.E.R.A. doping in athletes’ blood?

C.E.R.A. (Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator) is a new third-generation erythropoiesis-stimulating agent that has recently been linked with abuse in endurance sports. The anti-doping community rapidly reacted by releasing a high-throughput screening ELISA allowing the detection of C.E.R.A. doping in athletes' blood. In order to return adverse analytical findings, anti-doping laboratories, however, need, as far as possible, to confirm the presence of the drug in athletes' samples through orthogonal methods. This article focuses on the comparison of 2 proposed confirmation assays based on gel electrophoresis that were coupled with a new sample immunopurification method. IEF, the classical method used to target erythropoietin (EPO) and its recombinant analogues in athletes' samples, and SARKOSYL-PAGE were applied to the plasma samples of subjects having received a single injection of C.E.R.A. It was demonstrated that SARKOSYL-PAGE was at least 6 times more sensitive than IEF, with comparable specificity. A longer detection window coupled with easier interpretation criteria led us to recommend the use of SARKOSYL-PAGE to confirm C.E.R.A. presence in athletes' blood.

On the duty of the doctor not to disclose athlete doping data without consent

The manner in which doctors serve their athlete patients is guided by legal and professional governance. These refer to both the welfare of the patient and the obligations owed to them. Among these duties is the maintenance of confidentiality, which is at the heart of trustworthy doctor–patient relationships. The 2009 version of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) obliges all health-care professionals not to assist athletes who are known to be engaged in doping behaviours lest they commit a doping offence themselves under the auspices of the WADC. Such an offence would make the doctor liable to be their being forbidden from working with athletes from their respective sports by the governing national or international federation. Given their duty of care, both legal and professional, there may arise circumstances when serving the best interests of their athlete patients appear to oblige doctors to give advice and guidance, not least in terms of harm minimization. To give such advice, according to WADC, is to commit a doping offence. Thus, insofar as the doctor's conduct is guided by both professional and legal codes and the WADC, they are – notwithstanding the possibility of highly unusual and unlikely scenarios that we draw attention to – obliged to fall foul of one or the other in such a scenario.

GENE THERAPY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN SPORTS

Thanks to the very successful Human Genome Project and the identification of genes involved in genetic disease, we now have the ability to treat many conditions. However, the identification of the genes which code certain phenotype characteristics has opened the way for abuse in the fields of sport and physical exercise. The principles of gene therapy and the ways in which genes are transferred have completely been copied from gene therapy and are now being used to increase the physical abilities of athletes. The genes most frequently used by athletes include: the the ACE gene, the ACTN3 gene, myostatin, the erythropoietin gene, PPAR-delta and the like. The misuse of these genes with the aim of increasing physical abilities has already become part of sport and is extremely difficult to identify, since genes and gene sequences entering the human body are proteins that are already structural and functional parts of the organism. On the other hand, viral vectors as the instruments for gene transfer attack and destroy the human immune system, and the reaction of the human body can be negative, with a danger of insertional mutagenesis and the appearance of oncogenes. Gene therapy might actually be much more useful in treating sports injuries, but even these procedures are still far from clinical practice. There is a fine line between gene therapy and gene doping in athletes. A number of growth factors will enhance repair, but it happen that expression of these factors increase the strength of bones and tendons, so that giving an adventage to competitors. First of all, it is necessary to acquaint athletes as much as possible with the negative consequences of using gene therapy. However victory and glory may be strong achievements, the health of these young people, and respect for fundamental and ethical principles, humanity, and fair play game have a more lasting value and represent the heavier weight on the scales.