Perhaps Kenyon should move up to Division II or Division I. They don't seem to have much of a problem winning NCAAs for the last two decades. It might be more challenging for the team and coach.
Growth Hormone is probably only one ingredient in a cocktail of PEDs that serious users explore...... IGF-1, THG like enhancers, Testosterone, or even still anabolic steriods are used together. Remember Balco relationship with runner Kelli White and her admission to taking several items to win.
John Smith
I think a USMS HGH experiment is in order here. Perhaps after Nats one of our resident speed demons could lend themselves to science for a brief period of time...2-3 years max.
Growth Hormone is probably only one ingredient in a cocktail of PEDs that serious users explore...... IGF-1, THG like enhancers, Testosterone, or even still anabolic steriods are used together. Remember Balco relationship with runner Kelli White and her admission to taking several items to win.
These articles were posted by Knelson and Gull in a thread a couple of years ago. They're still relevant:
The New Yorker
September 10, 2001
"To beat the competition, first you have to beat the drug test. "
www.gladwell.com/.../2001_08_10_a_drug.htm
"Drug Test"
Outside magazine
November 2003
"Everybody knows that many athletes cheat by using performance-enhancing drugs like steroids, testosterone, and EPO. But what is it like to take these banned substances? Do they really help you win? To find out, we sent an amateur cyclist into the back rooms of sports medicine, where he just said yes to the most controversial chemicals in sports."
outside.away.com/.../200311_drug_test_1.html
The study showing no HGH effects is a joke...
Hmmm. The article mentioned is a review of 44 other articles, not original research, so it is a little unfair to label it a joke unless they missed many important studies (do you know any? You should bring them to the attention of the authors). They also mention the same limitation that you do.
Below is a summary of the review. Assuming they did a decent job of surveying the available studies, the fault seems to lie in the dearth of such studies at dosages that are typically used. They also mention that athletic performance itself is not often measured in the studies.
The Outside magazine article linked by Anna is fascinating reading in a morbid way, and pretty spooky. I felt like it was an alternative universe version of "Supersize Me." Yech, who would want to do that stuff.
**********Snip*************
Purpose: To evaluate evidence about the effects of growth hormone on athletic performance in physically fit, young individuals.
Data Sources: We reviewed the MEDLINE, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Collaboration databases for English-language studies published between January 1966 and October 2007.
Study Selection: Randomized, controlled trials that compared growth hormone treatment with no growth hormone treatment in community-dwelling healthy participants between 13 and 45 years of age.
Data Extraction: 2 authors independently reviewed articles and abstracted data.
Data Synthesis: 44 articles describing 27 study samples met inclusion criteria. 303 participants received growth hormone, representing 13.3 person-years of treatment. Participants were young (mean age, 27 years ), lean (mean body mass index, 24 kg/m2 ), and physically fit (maximum oxygen uptake, 51 mL/kg of body weight per minute ). Growth hormone dosage (mean, 36 µg/kg per day ) and treatment duration (mean, 20 days for studies giving growth hormone for >1 day) varied. Lean body mass increased in growth hormone recipients compared with participants who did not receive growth hormone (increase, 2.1 kg ), but strength and exercise capacity did not appear to improve. Lactate levels during exercise were statistically significantly higher in 2 of 3 studies that evaluated this outcome. Growth hormone–treated participants more frequently experienced soft tissue edema and fatigue than did those not treated with growth hormone.
Limitations: Few studies evaluated athletic performance. Growth hormone protocols in the studies may not reflect real-world doses and regimens.
Conclusion: Claims that growth hormone enhances physical performance are not supported by the scientific literature. Although the limited available evidence suggests that growth hormone increases lean body mass, it may not improve strength; in addition, it may worsen exercise capacity and increase adverse events. More research is needed to conclusively determine the effects of growth hormone on athletic performance.
Chris,point taken,the study was not a joke,but the headline trumpeted from it that HGH didn't affect athletic performance was. Athletes using high levels for a prolonged period weren't studied as the authors note,therefore this study more showed what had been studied rather than what world class cheaters are doing.
The study showing no HGH effects is a joke.They didn't give it in the doses and duration of abusers.There is an interesting article in last weeks Sports Illustrated about doping.In the big study in the 70s that showed no significant effect of anabolic steroids it turned out one of the participants was buying pills from the others and selling them so that the participants weren't getting the stuff.
