February 4, 2012

Posts Comments

You are here: Home / 2008 / Archives for August 2008

Infinite Number of Undetectable Designer Steroids with Combinatorial Chemistry

August 22, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Researcher Jason Thomas, a graduate student in the doctoral program for synthetic organic chemistry at City University in New York, takes us inside the mind of a designer steroid chemist in an interview with Culturekiosque. Thomas describes a powerful tool that has the potential to create an infinite number of undetectable, designer anabolic steroids.

Once steroid designers specify the essential features and desired biological activity for steroid drug design, hundreds of novel designer steroids could be synthesized or simulated through Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry (DCC) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-Doping, Steroid Pharmacology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Organized Doping in Greece Involving Anabolic Steroid Methyltrienolone

August 19, 2008 By Leave a Comment

The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) president believes organized doping is behind the fifteen Greek athletes who have failed anti-doping tests before and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Former 400-meter hurdles champion Fani Halkia, swimmer Ioannis Drymonakos, 400-meter runner Dimitrios Regas, sprinter Tassos Gousis and eleven unidentified Greek weightlifters all tested positive for the same prohibited anabolic steroid – methyltrienolone (“HOC president: Greek sports face organized doping,” August 18). [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-Doping, Steroids and Swimming, Steroids and Track Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Anti-Doping Laboratory Equipment is Big Business at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

August 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

The China Anti-Doping Agency (CADA) spent approximately $10 million dollars and six years to create a new state of the art laboratory specifically for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Roughly one quarter of that budget ($2.7 million) was used to purchase 60-80 various laboratory testing instruments. The primary beneficiaries of these purchases were the analytical laboratory equipment manufacturers Thermo Fisher Scientific, Agilent Technologies and Phenomenex (“Drugs at the Starting Line: The Olympics begin with new antidoping lab and measures to keep athletes honest,” August 11). [Read more...]
Filed Under: Anti-Doping Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Dara Torres Takes Moral High Ground Despite Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs

August 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Swimmer Dara Torres is an extraordinary athlete. The possibility that a 41-year old mother can compete alongside the best elite swimmers in the world with a legitimate chance at winning a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics is nothing short of phenomenal. There is nothing – no news or revelation – that could diminish her achievements in my eyes.

Having said that, I am disappointed to see Dara Torres publicly assert her moral superiority over other athletes who use performance enhancing drugs. Torres comes across as disingenous if not hypocritical when she decries the lack of a conscience in other competitors who use performance enhancing drugs.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-Doping, Steroid Commentary, Steroids and Swimming Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cyclist Marta Bastianelli Uses Benfluorex Unaware of Similarities to Banned Substance

August 5, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Italian cyclist Marta Bastianelli tested positive for a banned stimulant. She tested positive for the diet drug fenfluramine in a doping control conducted by the International Cycling Union (UCI) at the “Under-23 World Championships” in Verbania, Italy on July 5, 2008.

Bastianelli claims she never knowingly ingested a banned substance. She admitted to her obsession with weight control stating “I wanted to lose weight, like any girl.” She consulted with her doctor to find weight loss products that were not on the WADA banned substance list. Her doctor prescribed the drug Benfluorex. Benfluorex is an anti-diabetic drug that improves insulin sensitivity and glycemic control; as such it is often prescribed for weight loss. Benfluorex is not on the WADA banned substance list but it is structurally similar to Fenfluramine (which is listed) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-Doping, Steroids and Cycling Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Did Jessica Hardy’s Advocare Supplements Contain Clenbuterol?

August 3, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Swimmer Jessica Hardy has withdrawn from the United States Olympic Team bound for the 2008 Beijing Olympics after testing positive for low levels of the long-acting beta-2 adrenergic agonist (LABA) clenbuterol. Hardy maintains that she never knowingly or unintentionally consumed clenbuterol or any other banned susbtance.

The question of why and how clenbuterol appeared in Jessica Hardy’s sample remains a mystery. Was Hardy simply caught doping? Or were the “dietary supplements” used by Hardy contaminated or spiked with the banned substance clenbuterol? The supplement company Advocare was cited as one of the brands of dietary supplements used by Jessica Hardy. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-Doping, Steroids and Swimming Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,