Spanish doctor Marcos Maynar Mariño sent an email offering comprehensive urinalysis and steroid profiling at 50 euros per athlete to as many as ten professional cycling teams including Gerolsteiner, Milram, CSC and Columbia . Maynar offered to provide a complete analysis consistent with the same control methods used by the International Cycling Union (UCI). The services would be conducted by the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences at the Universidad de Extremadura in Cáceres, Spain (“Dos médicos españoles, acusados de dopar,” July 20).

According to the German television station ARD, Spanish doctor Marcos Maynar offered these services as for internal testing allowing athletes to monitor their doping to ensure that their use of performance enhancing drugs would not be detected by doping controls at the 2008 Tour de France and other pro cycling events. Maynar responded to the allegations that he aided and abetted doping by suggesting that ARD had ulterior motives stemming from bitterness over disgraced cyclist Jan Ullrich (“Marcos Maynar niega que quiera favorecer el dopaje,” July 21).

“Since Jan Ullrich’s tested positive, the Germans have wanted to shit on the Spaniards.”

Maynar admits to sending out the email but only to help pro tour teams with their own internal controls; he denies that his services would allow athletes to escape the detection of performance enhancing drugs. Marcos Maynar and his brother Juan Ignacio Maynar are both experts in anabolic steroids and work at the university laboratory. They claim their blood and urine testing services and legally recognized analysis for biological passports were developed to generate a badly need source of revenue for the University. He strongly denies that he supports doping in cycling (“Spanish lab allegations and confessions in Tour doping,” July 20).

But Marcos Maynar Marino from the university, who sent the email, insisted in a statement that the offer was made to assist the teams to find dopers, not to support substance abuse.

‘We are not supporting doping but try to prevent team-members from doing something which could destroy the team,’ Maynar said.

Maynar’s credibility with regard to doping has been hurt by his alleged involvement in other doping scandals.

In June 2004, Maynar was implicated in a nationwide steroid bust called Operación Gamma II that shutdown a network of steroid distributors providing anabolic steroids to bodybuilders and athletes at gyms in various cities in Spain.

In May 2006, Maynar was found to share clients with Eufemiano Fuentes, the mastermind behind the Operación Puerto doping scandal.

In May 2008, Maynar was the team doctor for the Portueguese LA MSS team who authorities found guilty of systematic doping.

Maynar said he was surprised by the raid, insisting that the team always “presented normal levels.”

“My relationship with the team is merely as a collaborator. I only go to races to control the hematocrit levels of the cyclists and look after the nutritional part of the athletes,” Maynar was quoted as saying.

Hat tip to Cycling Fans Anonymous.

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Could it be that the FDA is cracking down on anabolic steroids in dietary supplements? Are they beginning to clean up the supplement industry by enforcing DSHEA? Maybe. The FDA seized $1.3 million in allegedly illegal dietary supplements from the warehouse of LG Sciences (formerly Legal Gear). The seized supplements included Methyl 1-D, Methyl 1-D XL and Formadrol Extreme XL.

LG Sciences markets Methyl 1-D as an “AAS (anabolic/androgenic steroid) hormone” on their website and on their blog.

METHYL 1-D™ may be one of the most potent androgens since the prohormone ban in January 2005. With METHYL-1D, you get an AAS (anabolic/androgenic steroid) hormone that’s a chemical cousin to Testosterone. METHYL 1-D converts easily into TEST and also has an estrogen blocker to prevent bloat and bitch tits along with a 5aR inhibitor, so you can keep your hair.

LG Sciences is minimizing the significance of the FDA raid involving U.S. Marshalls and maintains that their products are DSHEA compliant.

In response to recent action taken by the FDA, LG Sciences wishes to clarify that we contend that all of its products are completely legal and safe. The FDA’s detainment is merely a preliminary step in determining compliance with food regulations. LG Sciences wishes to specifically note that no court has made any determination as to the correctness of FDA’s allegations. Although LG Sciences feels that the temporary restraint of its product by the FDA is inappropriate, the company appreciates that the FDA wishes to protect the public and will cooperate in every possible way.

Unfortunately, the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 is ambiguous and unclear in determining what substances are considered new dietary ingredients (NDI). An NDI requires data be submitted to the FDA regarding safety for human consumption prior to its introduction into the market. Due to a lack of a definitive list of approved dietary ingredients, the FDA mistakenly asserts that the products seized contain substances that are either not dietary ingredients, as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or that the substances are NDI. However, the substances are not NDI because these ingredients are naturally occurring, with confirmed studies over 25 years ago, and have been on the market in competitors products for several years. Thus, the ingredients have empirically been shown to be safe to consumers.

Items deemed unapproved food additives by the FDA 1,4,6 etiocholan-dione or commonly known as ATD or 1,4,6 Androstatriene3,17-dione. Additionally items alleged to require a new dietary ingredient status 4-etioallocholen-3,6,17-trione or better known by the trade name 6-OXO-4-androstenedione. LG Sciences looks forward to assisting the FDA in clarifying this matter and the prompt return of its inventory.

Legal Gear, the predecessor to LG Sciences, previously ran afoul of the FDA by selling unapproved new drugs containing synthetic anabolic steroids. Legal Gear discontinued the product after receiving a cease and desist from the FDA.

In March 2006, the FDA warned a company called Legal Gear – the predecessor to LG Sciences – to cease distribution of another product that was marketed as a dietary supplement but was actually an unapproved new drug containing synthetic steroids, the government’s statement said.

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Jim Lorimer, bodybuilding promoter and co-founder of the Arnold Sports Festival and the Arnold Classic, warned professional male bodybuilders competing in the bodybuilding competition in a private athlete’s meeting last Thursday night about reporters asking questions about “enhancement.” This was interpreted by those in attendance as a reference to anabolic steroids and other performance enhancement drugs although Lorimer never mentioned steroids directly. Lorimer offered guidance for bodybuilders who were approached by reporters:

Don’t focus on anything but the fantastic effort these athletes make which is… beyond athletes in every other sport as far as physical commitment and discipline and hard work and that’s the story I think we got to… Again, we got to make sure we tell that good part of the story; we got to tell the best of our story, ok?

Jim Lorimer told the athletes that every one of the over 30 sports federations competing in the Arnold Sports Festival has a testing protocol including the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB). Lorimer discusses the existing “amateur” protocol in the IFBB but also announced that in January 2008 the IFBB has implemented a testing protocol in the IFBB Professional League to “protect integrity and future of the sport.” The testing was implemented in response to other professional sports being “killed by the publicity” surrounding doping. Details of the IFBB’s new testing protocol were not revealed only that “there will be some testing throughout the coming year.”

Jim Lorimer explained the vulnerability of bodybuilding during the Arnold Sports Festival Weekend.

We’re especially vulnerable on our weekend here we have probably 500 reporters in town this weekend because at the head of it is a guy who is governor of California. Again, a good image for our sport and whether they are interested at getting at our sport or whether they are interested at getting the guy who is governor of California is all part of the same equation. And we’re in the same family of interests and have every good reason to protect the sport.

Jim Lorimer and Arnold Schwarzenegger have been business partners for over three decades. They have co-promoted the Arnold Classic since 1988. This year celebrates the 20th anniversity of the Arnold Classic.

Schwarzenegger has been criticized again and again for his promotion of the Arnold Classic and his close ties to the sport of bodybuilding.

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Dr. Gary Gaffney from Steroid Nation posted an article on Huffington Post about the performance enhancing effects of human growth hormone. Gaffney responds to so-called experts who assert with certainty that growth hormone does not help performance in sports. As Lou Schuler stated in a recent post, the true effects of growth hormone on performance are not always empirically “knowable and measurable.”

Gaffney takes note of the lack of empirical research examining the performance enhancing effects of drugs that has historically resulted in mainstream medical organizations failing to recognize performance enhancing drugs. Given this along with results seen in “experiments of nature,” Gaffney feels it is reasonable to conclude that GH has performance enhancing effects:

Consider that until 1984, testosterone — now the paragon of a PED — was not labeled a PED by the American Academy of Sports Medicine. Consider that most PED studies look at ‘weekend warriors’ and not elite world class athletes. And consider that no scientist has studied the effect of any PED on home run production in a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over pharmacological study. Considering all these points, saying PEDs affect MLB home-runs — or any athletic task — constitutes a classic inductive leap. But a reasonable conclusion in my view.

Gaffney discusses the importance of syngergism in the use of performance enhancing drugs. Bodybuilders have long recognized and exploited the synergism amongst various combinations of anabolic steroids, growth hormone and other peptides, and other performance enhancing drugs and have coined the term “stacking” to describe it. But Gaffney is one of the few doctors I’ve seen that has appreciated the concept of synergy in the context of PEDs in baseball and other sports outside of bodybuilding.

In the complex physiological milieu that constitutes human biology, hormones like HGH do not act alone. Neurotransmitters, hormones, growth factors, and other biochemicals act in concert with a multiplicity of biological variables to produce behavior, performance, emotions, and the other functions that we call life…

Many experts contend that HGH by itself my not increase strength or athletic performance. However, athletes take the drug in combination with anabolic steroids, thyroid hormone, insulin, IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor), and other ‘stacked’ PEDs. The effects of these drugs appears to be synergistic…

Experts on metabolism and endocrinology suggest that androgenic hormones modulate the response to HGH — ie. a synergistic effect. The response to HGH becomes even more complicated because another hormone IGF-1 may actually be performing much of the cellular dirty-work for HGH.

In 1999, my friend Bryan Haycock wrote a groundbreaking article on the synergism between growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin, thyroid, and anabolic-androgenic steroids.  The lengthy series offers incredible insight in the synergy of performance enhancing drugs.

In the first installment of this series we discussed the mechanism by which human growth hormone (GH) exerts its anabolic effects in the body. We also discussed the important role of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the anabolic properties of GH. In part two we discussed the role of androgens in GH secretion and sensitivity in a hypothetical pharmacological regimen aimed at dramatically increasing skeletal muscle growth. Based on research looking at the effects of androgens on GH secretion and IGF-1 sensitivity, it was deduced that the testosterone esters should provide the most potent anabolic stimulus compared to other androgens, especially those that do not aromatize. Now, in the final installment, we shall look at the feasibility of using GH, IGF-1, Insulin, and perhaps tri-iodothyronine (T3) to enhance the anabolic properties of androgens.

Athletes, particularly bodybuilders, will always be far ahead of the scientific community when it comes to experimentation with performance enhancing drugs. Bodybuilders usually are the first to establish trends in the types of anabolic drugs used and the manner in which they are used. The body of knowledge amonst bodybuilders continues to advance through real world trial and error.

There is no prohibition on performance enhancing drugs in bodybuilding which completely eliminates the ethical considerations faced by researchers and physicians and even athletes subjected to doping controls. As a result, anyone who wants to learn about performance enhancing drugs just needs to investigate bodybuilding to learn what is on the leading edge.

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New York Yankees baseball player Andy Pettitte allegedly obtained human growth hormone from his father who obtained it from Kelly Blair who may have obtained it from pro bodybuilder Craig Titus. It has yet to be determined where Craig Titus obtained the growth hormone.

Kelly Blair is the owner of 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness in Pasadena, Texas. He attended Deer Park High School with Andy Pettite.

According to the Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan Investigation website:

The Daily News reports some of the drugs came from steroid-user Craig Titus, a champion bodybuilder who is facing a murder trial in Nevada for the slaying of his former live-in assistant.

The Daily News reports pictures of several professional athletes, including Pettitte were displayed on the wall of Blair’s gym. The newspaper said eight other major leaguers, several pro golfers and an NFL quarterback were also pictured.

Also, Blair was reportedly seen working with Koby Clemens, the son of seven- time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, who was involved in a heated congressional hearing this past week. However, the Daily News reports that Koby Clemens, who is now playing baseball in the minors, hasn’t been linked to any illicit activity at the gym.

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My first introduction to Dan Duchaine was through the photocopied pages of Underground Steroid Handbook that circulated among bodybuilding circles at the University of Texas. I was impressed by the matter of fact, straightforward discussion of anabolic steroid information for muscle-building and performance-enhancing purposes. There was a lot of accurate information contained within those pages, much moreso than contemporary journal articles and information provided by physicians. And for this, we generally overlooked the errors and mistakes made by Duchaine.

As one of the first writers to disseminate uncensored information on the use of anabolic steroids, we looked forward to everything Dan wrote from articles in Muscle Media 2000 to Dirty Dieting Newsletter to misc.fitness.weights usenet newsgroups.

So, in the mid-1990s when I planned to launch my own steroid-related website at Mesomorphosis.com, Duchaine was one of the first people I wanted to consult. I soon had my wish. My wife and I were invited by the beautiful fitness diva and sex columnist Laura Moore to spent a few days with her and Dan in Jackson, Mississippi.  

My continuing education in anabolic pharmacology with Dan included watching pornography (with careful attention to enlarged clitorises that were a side effect of the steroids used by female bodybuilders featured in the films).

The pervert in Dan was immediately obvious to anyone who met him in person. Over the ensuing years, Dan revealed to me more of his cynicism and hopelessness regarding his personal relationships with women. But the full story is even more tragic than I could have imagined. I liked Dan Duchaine – he was always nice to me and my wife.

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