Blood doping: risks to athletes' health and strategies for detection.
Blood doping has been defined as the misuse of substances or certain techniques to optimize oxygen delivery to muscles with the aim to increase performance in sports activities. It includes blood transfusion, administration of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents or blood substitutes, and gene manipulations. The main reasons for the widespread use of blood doping include: its availability for athletes (erythropoiesis-stimulating agents and blood transfusions), its efficiency in improving performance, and its difficult detection. This article reviews and discusses the blood doping substances and methods used for in sports, the adverse effects related to this practice, and current strategies for its detection.
1Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Carolina Dizioli Rodrigues de
CD
Oliveira
André Valle de
AV
Bairros
Mauricio
M
Yonamine
D056352:Athletes; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D004300:Doping in Sports / Q000379:methods*; D006397:Hematinics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D013177:Sports; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*
D006397:Hematinics
blood doping; blood transfusions; detection; doping in sports; erythropoiesis-stimulating agents