Erythropoietin doping as cause of sudden death in athletes: an experimental study

Aims: To evaluate the cardiovascular (CV) effects of rhEPO treatment in rats under chronic aerobic exercise and to assess the probable cause of sudden death in one rat. Protocol: Male Wistar rats: control - sedentary; rhEPO - 50 IU/Kg/3xwk; swimming (EX) -1 hr, 3x/wk; EX+EPO. Hematology, catecholami...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Piloto, N. (author)
Other Authors: Teixeira, H.M. (author), Teixeira-Lemos, E. (author), Parada, B. (author), Garrido, P. (author), Sereno, J. (author), F. Pinto, A.F. (author), Costa, Elísio (author), Belo, L. (author), Santos-Silva, A. (author), Pinto, R. (author), Couceiro, P. (author), Neto, P. (author), Xavier, F. (author), Carvalho, L. (author), Teixeira, F. (author), Reis, F. (author)
Format: conferenceObject
Language:eng
Published: 2011
Subjects:
rhEPO
Doping
Chronic aerobic exercise
Sudden Death
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/4632
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:repositorio.ucp.pt:10400.14/4632
Description
Summary:Aims: To evaluate the cardiovascular (CV) effects of rhEPO treatment in rats under chronic aerobic exercise and to assess the probable cause of sudden death in one rat. Protocol: Male Wistar rats: control - sedentary; rhEPO - 50 IU/Kg/3xwk; swimming (EX) -1 hr, 3x/wk; EX+EPO. Hematology, catecholamines and serotonin, redox status and inflammation, were assessed. One rat of EX+EPO group suffered a sudden death episode. Results: rhEPO treatment in trained rats promoted several markers of increased CV risk. The sudden death rat tissues presented: lungs without signs of drowning; brain with vascular congestion; LV hypertrpphy and deregulations of cardiac fibers, together with a "cardiac liver", suggesting the hypothesis of heart failure as cause of death. Conclusion: The sudden death of a EX+EPO rat, due to a cardiac episode, together with the increased CV risk profile, strongly suggest a high life risk associated to the continuous rhEPO doping. The anatomo-pathological studies were determinant to establish the cause of death.

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