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Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

Doping with blood substitute has negative impact on performance

Posted June 28th, 2007 at 3:53 PM by Courtney Albon

Section: News & Results, Running & Training, Nutrition, Supplements, Health & Fitness, Drugs In Sports

Attempts to enhance performance with a doping agent called Hemopure, may not be worth the effort. According to a recent study, the blood substitute intended to strengthen patients with anemia, may actually do the opposite for elite athletes seeking a boost in endurance.

Hemopure is a blood substitute derived from cow’s blood that serves to deliver Oxygen throughout the body at a faster rate and is intended for individuals with a low count of red blood cells. The drug was approved in South Africa in 2001 and has recently been made available in some parts of Europe, but only to be used as a strengthening agent for anemic patients.

In the past, Athletes have used a product called EPO, also a drug used by anemic patients, but doctors say that the increased amount of oxygen that Hemopure delivers to the body, sets it apart from EPO and similar drugs.

Athletes who use Hemopure in search of strengthened endurance may be disappointed, however, as recent studies reported in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, have found that Hemopure does little to improve performance.
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