Supporting a uK SucceSS Story: The impacT of - Research Councils ...

A number of new technologies will be used to test for banned
substances. For the first time in an Olympic Games, full scan high
resolution mass spectrometry will be used to provide the most
comprehensive data on the composition of the athletes’ urine
samples. These data sets will then be examined to determine
whether any banned substance is present. Indentifying the presence
of pseudo-endogenous substances represent a particular challenge.
For example, growth hormone is a natural hormone and therefore
could be expected to be found in an athlete’s blood. Also, the level
of growth hormone will change dramatically throughout the day.
These challenges have made the development of a test for growth
hormone a priority for WADA and UK Anti-Doping. Although
there is a test currently in use, it can only be used within a short
time frame. Researchers based at the University of Southampton,
King’s College London and University of Kent at Canterbury are
developing a biomarker test that can be used over a longer period
of time. These biomarker proteins rise when growth hormone is
administered and remain high for several weeks which can give
drugs testers a longer window of opportunity to detect banned
substances. Any test used in anti-doping must be robust and
withstand legal and scientific challenge. The research team has been
working to address these issues to ensure that the test is water-tight
at the point of its introduction.
“The team have
studied warm up
techniques that
involve doing
high-intensity
exercise known as
“priming”, before
the main exercise
session or race.”
Drugs and doping – an education
Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University
have looked at how effective anti-doping
systems have been in the past and what could
be done to improve them. It highlighted the
need for international collaboration between
the International Olympic Committee (IOC),
governments and sports federations, which
then happened in the form of the WADA. The
researchers also looked at the use of over-thecounter
drugs, such as medicine for colds and
other illnesses, and whether they actually affect an
athlete’s performance. Often these drugs are taken
by athletes without them being aware that they
are actually banned substances, so the researchers
have gone onto look at education around drug use
in sport. It is hoped that by educating people more
about the dangers and illegality of doping, fewer
athletes will be tempted to use drugs.
The researchers at Liverpool John Moores along
with colleagues at the universities of Manchester
and Greenwich have developed a new education
programme for pharmacy volunteers at the
London 2012 Games having recognised that
nothing similar was currently offered in the UK.
This programme has also been available to all
healthcare professionals in the UK to help them
deal with both elite athletes and members of
the public who participate in sport and exercise
and may or may not use performance enhancing
drugs.
Research at Leeds Metropolitan University has
found that drugs testing alone is not enough
of a deterrent to stop athletes from taking
performance enhancing drugs. The researchers
from the university’s Carnegie Research Institute
investigated athlete’s beliefs and willingness to
use performance enhancing drugs and found that
more emphasis needs to be placed on doping
prevention and education to change perceptions
of doping. The research also found that an
athlete is highly influenced by their coach and so
coaches must be made a priority group for antidoping
education. Work in this area is ongoing to
understand what makes an athlete decide to use
drugs and this research will inform future antidoping
education.
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