Just watched the Tour de France on TV the druggies are back at it again.
Former Member
From today's news:
The IOC will begin new drug tests on samples from the Beijing Olympics searching for a new blood-boosting drug called CERA that drug tests have just begun identifying.
And from the "Steroid Nation" blog:
grg51.typepad.com/.../did-roche-help.html
10/9/08
Apparently no 'fingerprint': Roche helped WADA with CERA EPO tests
Where is the truth on this issue? Did the pharmaceutics company Roche help WADA develop a test for CERA EPO or not? Is there a stealth molecule in Roche's CERA EPO or not?
Last summer when the Tour de France ran anti-doping tests for the new CERA EPO, there was a story that the drugs manufacturer -- Roche -- embedded a chemical fingerprint on the compound.
WADA is lips sealed on this, but leaks say that Tour de France EPO drug cheat Riccardo Ricco fell to a stealth molecule attached to the drug by the manufacturer (Roche). The new EPO preparation -- CERA, a pegylated version of EPO -- appears to have a trojan horse embedded somewhere that can be detected in WADA labs.
Roche denied the claims at the time:
Apparently WADA didn't understand the science, or WADA president John Fahey misspoke. Roche, the manufacturer of the new CERA variety of EPO denies claims of a stealth molecule embedded in the drug to catch dopers. (Science Blogs)
Now Roche is saying that the company did cooperate with WADA in enabling lab detection of CERA EPO. (IHT)
The maker of a drug at the center of a new Tour de France scandal says it collaborated with anti-doping experts to help catch cheats in sports.
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG teamed up with the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2004 once clinical trials showed that the blood-booster CERA could become a doping drug of choice.
"We were very pleased that this collaboration with WADA has been productive," Roche spokeswoman Claudia Schmitt said Wednesday.
The new test was implemented at the Tour de France and will be utilized in retesting Beijing 2008 Olympics samples.
With an effective laboratory blood test finally available, three stage winners in the 2008 Tour — Stefan Schumacher of Germany and Italy's Riccardo Ricco (EPO gets you kisses, photo at right) and Leonardo Piepoli — have been caught cheating with CERA, an advanced version of EPO. Schumacher and Piepoli were exposed Monday.
On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee announced it would retest samples taken from athletes in all sports at the Beijing Games in August to search for traces of CERA.
Doesn't matter if they go back and test the Olympic samples. Some how 300 were lost. I'm sure it was just an accident.
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Plenty of glitches revealed in 2008 Beijing Olympics dope testing
The Brisbane Times picked up on a WADA report indicating anti-doping measures at the recent 2008 Beijing Olympics left something to be desired...like the loss of 300 samples. Oops.
OFFICIAL independent drug testing observers at the Beijing Olympics say up to 300 test results taken from Games athletes are missing.
The team of 10 independent observers charged with reporting on the Games drug testing procedures detailed the missing tests in their official report to the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The report says: "once the (Beijing ) laboratory had apparently delivered all reports to the independent observer team it transpired that around 300 test results were missing in comparison to the doping control forms" The team checked the status of the laboratory results with the International Olympic Committee medical chairman and the observers reported that the IOC too "may be missing some reports".
The Chinese doping control lab lacked the capability to test for insulin...not to mention missed a 'control' spiked planted sample.
The observers also uncovered some surprising deviations from the normal drug testing procedures — including the fact that the Beijing laboratory could not test for one of the banned substances, insulin.
The laboratory also appeared to miss picking up one of the quality control samples that had contained a prohibited substance. The observers also reported that nearly half of the national Olympic committees did not provide the important whereabouts information of their athletes to enable effective pre-Games and out-of-competition drug testing.
As reported the other day, many countries failed to reveal the location of their athletes, thus making random testing impossible.
Initially more than 110 national committees out of the 204 teams competing at the Games failed to provide whereabouts information concerning their athletes.
After the issue was raised at a meeting on August 7, on the eve of the opening of the Beijing Olympics, there were still 102 countries which did not provide whereabouts.
These snafus do not lend to increased confidence in the doping control carried out in the Beijing Olympics. At least we know that the gymnasts ages were absolutely legitimate...
From
www.washingtonpost.com/.../AR2008102403338.html
Weight-Loss Pills Lead to Positive Tests
By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 25, 2008; Page E02
A significant number of NFL players have tested positive under the league's steroid policy because of their use of weight-loss pills containing a substance banned by the league, sources familiar with the cases said yesterday.
A Denver television station, KDVR-TV, reported six to 10 players tested positive, including tailback Deuce McAllister and defensive end Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints. One to two other Saints players also tested positive, according to the report, which cited an NFL source.
Most of the players, including McAllister and Smith, tested positive for bumetanide, described as a drug used to treat fluid retention. The diuretic reportedly also can be used as a steroid-masking agent and is on the NFL's list of banned substances. According to the report, bumetanide belongs to a group of medicines called loop diuretics, or water pills....
