Doping Crime in Sports - Most Known Prohibited Drugs And More

Hi, fellow Steemians. I'm going to talk about an event that sometimes we're witnessing after sports matches or Olympics. The substances prohibited so far and why they are prohibited…

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Anabolic Substances

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Anabolic substances are the most frequently prohibited products, especially in the Olympics. It is a very wide class that contains many different structures. I'm going to talk about anabolic steroids, an important molecule that enters this class.

Anabolic steroids are similar to a hormone naturally found in humans, known structurally as testosterone. When they are taken in the body they imitate the effect of testosterone.

Testosterone is known as an androgen or male sex hormone. It is produced by Leydig cells in the body. It enhances and protects masculine traits, contributing to the condition of somatic tissues.

Athletes who want to take advantage of the similarity of testosterone to steroids are directed to these drugs to increase their physical strength and muscle strength. Generally, the athletes prefer to use these drugs before the competition, not during the competition. So, it's getting harder to find effects of them in the tests. For this reason, different tests are also being done.

Drugs that were found to be used by Russians were anabolic steroids in the doping scandal in the past years.

It is required to know that although there are frequently used drugs, these drugs have important side effects. A high blood pressure can be observed at a level that can cause heart disease and kidney damage. It can also lead to physical changes in both men and women. These changes may be a decrease in testicles in men, a rise in breasts and a decrease in sperm counts while in women the increase in body hairs, shrinking of breasts and thickening of voice may occur. Their use should be assessed taking these risks into account.

Another group in this group of drugs, other than anabolic steroids, are non-steroidal drugs. One of the most known is Clenbuterol. Clenbuterol is used in the treatment of respiratory disorders. Because it expands the respiratory tracts and has a decongestant effect. Along with being some muscle building effects on the athletes, it is often used as an aid to accelerate metabolism and increase fat burning. Using this drug is also prohibited.

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Stimulants

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The second most commonly detected second drugs are stimulants. Stimulant drugs are drugs that increase attention and energy. They show activity similar to body hormones by creating an effect like "fight or flight" which is mostly caused by adrenaline and noradrenaline. Caffeine, one of the most common stimulants, is a non-banned substance. However, stimulants such as amphetamines and cocaine are among the prohibited drugs.

Of course, these drugs have also side effects like where anabolic agents. First of all, most of the stimulants have a tendency to become addictive. For this reason, they take place in risky drug groups. Withdrawal syndrome occurs in people who use them. There is also the possibility of increasing the risk of heart failure.

Modafinil, a stimulant, was also on the list of prohibited drugs in 2004. It has stated that the athletes extend the exercise period and banned for some athletes.

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Hormones and Modulators

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This class is quite wide and varied. It has the ability to integrate into the hormones and metabolism of the human body as well as has effects that make it superior to the athletes. This group is used with anabolic steroids to reduce unwanted physical side effects of drugs.

Some of the drugs in this class affect estrogen, an important hormone in our bodies. It may be beneficial in reducing side effects in men who use anabolic steroids. Because steroid use can cause enlarged chest and gynecomastia. Estrogen inhibitor drugs help to reduce the most of these effects. These drugs are often used for this purpose, rather than increasing athlete performance.

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Among these drugs, there is also Meldonium, which was once used by the famous tennis player Maria Sharapova. Meldonium is mainly used in the treatment of heart diseases and coronary artery disease. The aim of this drug for the athletes is to expand the arteries and increase the oxygen that goes to the muscles.

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Diuretics and Masking Agents

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Diuretics are mainly drugs that increase urinary water excretion. They are used for the purpose of organizing body masses by athletes. Especially in boxing, it is highly used for sports where competitors should have similar body weight.

They can also be used to mask the use of other prohibited substances. Dilution of the urine can prevent the use of doping agents or their metabolites in the urine.

Of course, these drugs also have many side effects. They can lead to deterioration of salt balance and dehydration in particular. Their widespread use can lead to kidney damage in the gastrointestinal tract. One of the most widely used diuretics is Furosemide.

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Narcotics

Narcotics are primarily used for pain relief. They are used to help the athletes get over the top of minor injuries or to increase tolerance to pain. They also help to reduce anxiety in the high stressed athletes like the Olympic athletes.

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Morphine and codeine are known as "opioids" are included in this class. These drugs have been prohibited in the early 20th century by their use in conjunction with anabolic steroids.

However, despite the fact that it is not on the list of prohibited drugs, the use of painkillers such as aspirin has also been observed to decrease.

In addition to the effects of narcotics, their side effects can observe very seriously. First, additive effects, as well as the use of drug users in the body is observed to develop tolerance. So the dose needs to be increased to see the same effect. This also leads to severe psychological side effects due to overdose.

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Other Substances

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In fact, the classification of doping drugs is still being discussed and changing. However, there are also some substances that are outside of the drugs we classify in this way such as cannabis, cannabinoids, glyco-steroids…

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It is banned to use more than a certain amount some substances. For example, although the use of beta-2 agonists in asthma treatment over a certain dose is banned, the dose used for treatment is allowed.

Beta blockers are not used to increase muscle mass, to be stronger, like other substances. They have a much different purpose; slowing heart rate, staying calm, reducing muscle tremors. So, how calm you are in sports such as archery, you can shoot so carefully. The general purpose of these drugs is in this direction. There are effects on the release and recovery of adrenaline and noradrenalin. It is not surprising that it is actually used by athletes as it affects the performance of adrenaline in the bloodstream in response to stress, fear, or physical exertion.

One of the prohibited substances that need to be mentioned is erythropoietin. This substance, which helps increase the calming red blood cells, is referred to as "blood doping". Erythropoietin is a hormone that increases the red blood cells. Well, what does this mean? What happens when red blood cells increase? Red blood cells are cells that carry oxygen. In the case of using erythropoietin, it increases the performance of the athlete as more oxygen is carried to the muscles thanks to the increased red blood cells.

The World Anti-Doping Agency publishes news, studies and the list of prohibited substances on this subject each year. You can access a lot of information from the website of the agency.

Thanks for reading...

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References

<sup>- Androgen Physiology, Pharmacology and Abuse (David J Handelsman MB BS, PhD, FRACP, FAHMS)
- The rush to adrenaline: drugs in sport acting on the Beta-adrenergic system ( E Davis,1,2 R Loiacono,1,2 and R J Summers1)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_in_sport
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2219897/
- https://www.wada-ama.org/</sup>