Tests for Performance Enhancing Drugs

The use of performance-enhancing drugs create a dark shadow over some athletic accomplishments in professional sports and the Olympics. Even with as much as testers know about the steroids and other drugs that athletes may be taking, as well as what to look for and how to test for them, "designer drugs" make the job increasingly difficult.

  1. Types

    • Tests for anabolic steroids usually begin with a urine sample. Testers look for the ratio of testosterone to another chemical called epitestosterone. Since anabolic steroids increase the user's testosterone, the ratio will be skewed. If the ratio is 6:1 or more, then the test indicates steroid use. This initial test can be validated with other tests that isolate individual gases, then determine what is present in the user's urine at a molecular level. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) typically recommends urine tests for out-of-competition testing and blood tests for in-competition testing. Urine testing is used more universally because it is less expensive and has fewer complications. Blood testing, however, is more sensitive, and tends to detect anabolic steroids even when a urine test cannot. It is the best test to detect human growth hormone (HGH).

    Identification

    • Testing can successfully identify common steroids. Anabolic-androgenic steroids include methyltestosterone (Android), oxandrolone (Oxandrin), and oxymetholone (Anadrol). They can be prescribed for medical reasons. However, another group of anabolic-androgenic steroids has been developed just to be more difficult to detect in athletes. These are used for no legal medical use, have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are particularly dangerous. These "designer steroids" include tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), desoxymethyltestosterone (Madol), and norbolethone (Genabol). Another type of performance-enhancing drugs are diuretics, including acetazolamide (Diamox), spironolactone (Aldactone), and furosemide (Lasix).

    Effects

    • Anabolic-androgenic steroids increase the body's production of testosterone and build muscle. They also increase male characteristics, such as facial hair, in people who take them. All of these drugs will increase muscle mass, reduce muscle damage, cut recovery time and can create aggression. Diuretics change the fluid levels in the body; this can decrease an athlete's weight and can dilute urine to make passing a drug test easier.

    Considerations

    • Critics and watchdogs of drug testing practices raise concerns about test accuracy. Some chemicals, like testosterone, are already in the body, and can be unexpectedly high for natural, physiological reasons. Some, like EPO, which increases the production of red blood cells, leave the bloodstream quickly, which makes it difficult to find with standard testing. Still other drugs are unknown to testers. "Designer drugs" are being developed all the time, making it difficult for testing to keep pace. There are also "masking agents" designed and used to fool drug tests.

    Warning

    • Performance-enhancing drugs do much more than just increase athletic success. Side effects of performance-enhancing drugs can be harmful to an athlete's health, embarrassing and can provide clues that steroids are being used. Negative effects include baldness, severe acne, psychiatric and behavioral problems, liver problems, and a lack of growth and physical development in younger users. Men can develop breasts and infertility, while women can develop a deeper voice and increased body hair. Diuretics can cause problems from exhaustion to heart arrhythmia to death.