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'Untraceable' Drug Worries Officials
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By ERRIN HAINES
Associated Press Writer
October 7, 2002, 4:38 PM EDT
ATLANTA -- U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officials are keeping a close eye on an
anti-anemia drug that would be virtually undetectable by blood or urine tests if
used for performance enhancement.
Repoxygen, a new drug still in clinical trials, increases levels of
erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that supplies high amounts of oxygen to the
muscles and increases endurance.
Anti-doping officials, meeting in Atlanta, said Monday they are worried about
all forms of blood manipulation to enhance oxygen delivery -- including
transfusion of red blood cells, blood substitutes and any way of delivering EPO.
Unlike other EPOs, which USADA officials say can be detected by urine tests,
Repoxygen is hard to trace through the random blood or urine tests given to
athletes at sporting events.
"You can turn it on and off. It acts more or less like the body," USADA Senior
Manager Director Larry Bowers said.
Repoxygen encourages the body to produce its own EPO as athletes need it. Bowers
said the USADA is preparing for Repoxygen even though it is in the early stages
of development.
"We see Repoxygen as a significant threat, but we believe that by monitoring
blood over time, we will be able to detect unusual, not normal, blood
production," Bowers said.
Because the drug -- being developed by the British company Oxford BioMedica Plc
-- is still in clinical trials, Bowers said the USADA has not yet talked to the
company about possible abuse.
Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency's Health, Medical and
Research Committee, said the sooner the partnership begins, the better.
"There is a tendency for substances under development to be used before they hit
the market," he said.
The USADA, which is responsible for managing the testing for U.S. Olympic, Pan
Am and Paralympic athletes, is pushing for urine testing as the primary
detection method for all banned substances.
But some scientists feel both blood and urine tests are needed.
Copyright (c) 2002, The Associated Press
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This article originally appeared at:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-oly-anti-doping1007oct07,0,6935490.story
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