test dope test

[oswaldosalcedo]

Isotopes help pin down artificial testosterone

As two sporting stars undergo doping tests, [email protected] finds out whether cheaters can really be caught.
Kerri Smith
What has happened?In the past week, cyclist Floyd Landis and sprinter Justin Gatlin have both been singled out by doping tests - not for any new-fangled drug, but for the old-fashioned sex hormone testosterone. Landis made a spectacular comeback in the 17th leg of the Tour de France to take first place in the famous cycle race. But urine samples taken following that stunning performance showed unusually high levels of testosterone. And Gatlin, who shares the world record for the 100-metre sprint, tested positive for synthetic testosterone after a race in April this year. Both men maintain their innocence.
Why would anyone take testosterone?
The hormone, which occurs naturally in the bodies of both men and women, builds muscle mass, enhancing speed and aiding recovery from injury. Some experts have questioned the usefulness of taking testosterone, especially for endurance sports where muscle bulk can slow the body down. But the hormone is one of the more common findings of the labs at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), according to David Cowan, director of the Drug Control Centre at King's College London.
How would they do it?
Athletes could swallow or inject a synthetic version of the hormone made from plant steroids. This confers the muscle-enhancing properties of testosterone without the sex-hormone side effects.
How do labs test for it?
Labs often look at urine samples for the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, which is produced alongside the natural version of the hormone. The normal ratio (T/E) in men is around 1:1, although there is a lot of natural variation from person to person, and the testosterone ratio thought to be "suspiciously high" has changed over the years. At the beginning of 2005, WADA set a threshold of 4:1 as the cut-off for declaring a test positive. The T/E ratio in one of Landis's samples was reported by his doctor to be 11:1.
But athletes could inject synthetic epitestosterone along with testosterone, making the test fallible. Samples from Gatlin were sent straight for more advanced analysis with isotope ratio mass spectroscopy (IRMS).
What's IRMS?
This technique, developed a few years ago, looks at isotopes of carbon in the various compounds in a urine sample. A person's natural hormones should contain a consistent ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13. But synthetic testosterone tends to contain a smaller amount of the heavier isotope.
This test is considered to be far better than T/E ratios at distinguishing synthetic from natural testosterone. But it can't always be used, as there is often too little of the individual hormones, including testosterone, in a urine sample for a reliable result. "It is really remarkable when it works," says Cowan. "Unfortunately, it's not really sensitive enough in many of the sports cases to give us that miracle answer." Landis's sample is also undergoing this test; results are expected this weekendl.

[oswaldosalcedo]

steroid chemist jailed

By Adam Tanner in San Francisco
August 05, 2006 A UNITED STATES federal judge sentenced the Illinois chemist who devised a steroid at the centre of the BALCO sports doping scandal to three months in jail overnight.
Judge Susan Illston accepted a plea deal agreement of three months prison followed by three months home detention as part of a two-year supervised release program for Patrick Arnold, known as the "father of prohormones", which are steroid-like substances. The punishment was the same as baseball star Barry Bonds' personal trainer received last year for steroid distribution in the BALCO affair, which has tarred the reputations of top athletes in track and field, baseball and football.
Judge Illston last year sentenced the head of the BALCO lab to four months jail, four months home confinement.
"It's a really destructive path you have been on," Judge Illston told Arnold during the sentencing hearing, adding the doping scandal has been "damaging to the nation as a whole."
Arnold saidhe plans on leading a "nice clean life" after serving his sentence and apologised for his role in the doping scandal.
"I am very regretful for what I've done," he said.
Nanci Clarence, Arnold's lawyer, ruled out the possibility he would help prosecutors by sharing his knowledge of steroids.
"He is not cooperating," Ms Clarence said after the sentencing.
In April, Arnold admitted guilt to one count of conspiring to distribute steroids.
He concocted the steroid known as "Clear" or THG (tetrahydrogestrinone) that had enabled pro athletes to boost their performance without detection.
According to the federal indictment last year, Arnold synthesised THG from gestrinone, a steroid for which he paid $US10,800 ($14,220) in China and then sent the refashioned substance to California-based BALCO and others.
Officials only gained the ability to detect Clear after a track coach in 2003 sent a used syringe to the US Anti-Doping Agency. Only new testing developed afterward was able to detect use of the drug.
The BALCO scandal continues to take a toll.
On Thursday, the trainer that sent in the discarded syringe, Trevor Graham, was banned from using US Olympic Committee training centres and facilities. Earlier, one of his trainees, Olympic and 100-meter champion Justin Gatlin failed a test for testosterone or its precursors.
San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds, who is playing mediocre baseball this year, is also still the subject of a grand jury probe into whether he lied in BALCO testimony about any past association with steroids.
Reuters

[BajanBastard]

Good to see P.A keeping his mouth closed.