Sporting events have always provided an opportunity for individuals to show their physical prowess. Each sport has its own set of rules and regulations prescribed by governing bodies to ensure fair competition and equal opportunity for each participant, as a test of endurance, will, power, strength and form. Some athletes have allowed the thirst for victory, fame and money to lead them to public humiliation by way of being banned from the sport and/or stripped of a medal for an extended period of time. Doping is a method that artificially enhances the body’s natural ability to coordinate cardiac output with pulmonary activity for maximum efficiency. Aerobic respiration involves the use of oxygen in the presence of food to produce carbon dioxide, water and energy. Energy is held within an ATP (adenosine triphosphate) molecule. When a cell requires energy a bond within the ATP molecule is broken. The need for energy is highly increased during competition or for persons who exercise regularly to reduce fatigue. Endurance events such as marathons and cycling require this energy being produced. Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are banned in the sporting industry as it alters the athlete’s prowess in an unnatural manner. These PEDs enhance muscle mass and physical strength and are common among sprinters and weightlifters.
Other hormones that are less popular being used are luteinizing hormone (LH), human growth hormone (hGH) and human chorionic hormones (h CG) Erythropoietin (EPO) is another naturally occurring drug which stimulates the production of more red blood cells which increases the supply of oxygen to exercising muscles. EPO is said to increase oxygen supply by as much as 10% and is mainly used by endurance athletes long distance runners and cyclists. Sometimes drugs go undetected. Due to the myriad of doping methods available, sensitive analytical techniques which give reproducible, reliable results must be used. Gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) is a method of drug testing. The GC/MS machine is equipped with a library which contains the substances which are commonly found during drug testing. Urine and blood samples are the body fluids normally checked for banned drugs. Blood samples are now held for 8 years so that they may be tested in the future as the drug detection methods are being constantly tweaked to increase sensitivity to the constantly changing doping world. The World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) was established in 1999 with a mission “to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against doping in sport in all its forms”.
