Asthma victims can benefit from steroids

According to a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and other institutions, asthmatics can benefit to a significant extent when doses of steroids are increased or more drugs are added to the steroid treatment.

Robert C. Strunk, M.D., and Leonard B. Bacharier, M.D., both Washington University pediatric asthma specialists at St. Louis Children's Hospital were co-authors for this study.

From Sciencedaily.com:

"We used a few complicated and expensive tests we thought would help us determine which drug would be better, but they didn't help, so we can avoid these tests," says Strunk, the Donald Strominger Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine.
Although 98 percent of patients in the study showed improvement on at least one of the step-up options, there were still 120 asthma exacerbations, or attacks, among the 165 patients that required treatment with prednisone, a corticosteroid commonly used after an exacerbation that prevents the release of inflammatory substances in the body. Bacharier says that indicates none of these treatments provide perfect asthma control.
"There may not be an ideal therapy for every patient, but these step-up treatments allow for improved asthma control and outcomes over leaving them on low-dose steroids alone," Bacharier says.

This study was published online March 2, 2010, by the New England Journal of Medicine and presented the same day at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology's annual meeting in New Orleans.

Andrew Leipus rejects drugs claims

The physiotherapist of the Indian cricket team, Andrew Leipus, has rejected allegations in the Outlook magazine that were backed up by quotes attributed to former coach Anshuman Gaekwad.

Leipus told the www.rediff.com website, "I have never asked anyone to use steroids ever”.

From News.bbc.co.uk:

"I have never even asked them to use cortisone injections to mask pain.
"The Indian cricket team does not work hard enough in the gym to benefit from the use of steroids."
Gaekwad, who was Indian coach for three years, has threatened to sue the magazine, saying his quotes had been taken out of context.
"I generally talked about energy-replacement drinks which, in any case, are taken on the field in full public view," said the former Test cricketer.
"At no point did I mention the use of performance-enhancing drugs."
South African Leipus, who has been with the Indian team for two years, said the claims were unrealistic.
"Indian cricketers do not push themselves to their genetic potential. Steroids help people in the gym enormously. If you are into heavy weight training, steroids will help you a lot.

Leipus also denied rumors that players could be using drugs during the off-season without his knowledge.

Australian trainer Joe Janiak hits back in row

Joe Janiak, the Australian trainer, recently responded to claims that Takeover Target should not have been invited to run at Royal Ascot.

Takeover Target, the nine-year old, could have an unfair advantage after testing positive for a banned steroid in 2006 as per British trainer Mark Johnston.

From News.bbc.co.uk:

Janiak said the criticism is unfair: "There's no justification for it, we were innocent at the time."
"At no stage did steroids give my horse an advantage."
He added: "It's done and we've paid the penalty."
Takeover Target was found to have the anabolic steroid 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone hexanoate, known as HPC, in his system on arrival in Hong Kong in October 2006.
The drug, which has the potential to build muscle, was not on the banned list of substances in Australia at the time but was outlawed in February 2008.
Janiak says HPC was recommended by vets as an aid for horses who travel abroad.

Johnston told the Racing Post that it seems like the rules for British trainers are different from those for Australian trainers with runners in Britain.

Callum Priestley tested positive

Callum Priestley, the 21-year-old sprint hurdler, who won the 60m hurdles title at the British trials, has become the first athlete to fail a drug test after Dwain Chambers tested positive for Tetrahydrogestrinone in 2003.

Priestley was provisionally suspended from all competition and funding after his provided B sample tested positive for clenbuterol.

From Guardian.co.uk:

The UKA chief executive, Niels de Vos, said: "I am hugely disappointed that there has been a failed test. UKA continues to give 100% support to the work of UK Anti-Doping and we maintain our full commitment to drug-free sport."

Priestley's positive sample turned up following an out-of-competition test taken at a UKA training camp in South Africa in January. If found guilty he will face a two-year ban and a lifetime ban from competing as a British athlete in the Olympic Games.

Clenbuterol is on the World Anti-Doping Authority's banned substance list for its performance enhancing properties that include improved aerobic capacity and a faster metabolism that helps with weight loss. In 2008, the American swimmer Jessica Hardy was forced to withdraw from the US Olympic team after testing positive for the drug, while Poland's sprint canoeist Adam Seroczynski, who also tested positive, was disqualified from the K-2 1,000m event at the Beijing Olympic Games and subsequently banned from the sport for two years.

Clenbuterol is an ingredient in drugs prescribed to patients afflicted from chronic breathing disorders like asthma.

Troy Glaus says no to future use of steroids

Troy Glaus of the Cardinals has vowed not to make use of anabolic steroids again. This was after Glaus met Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak to have a word on a newspaper report suggesting the third baseman made use of steroids in 2003 and 2004 for recovering from shoulder injuries.

Mozeliak said Glaus is expected to stay away from steroids from now on and he expects the player to get back to St. Louis as quickly as possible.

From Mlb.mlb.com:

Glaus, who hit 27 homers and had 99 RBIs last season, his first with the Cardinals, injured the shoulder again and underwent arthroscopic debridement in January. He is rehabbing with a private trainer in Phoenix, where the Cardinals opened a three-game series against the Diamondbacks on Monday.
Glaus declined to comment on specifics of the Times' report, according to the Post-Dispatch.
"At this point, there is no reason [to go over the past]. I'm not going to comment," Glaus said. "I'm in there [the gym]. I'm doing my exercises, and I'm going to do everything I can to get back as soon as I possibly can. From the exercises I'm doing now or working out -- whatever it is I have to do so that when I come back, I'm ready to play."
Mozeliak said he was satisfied that there would be no parallels between Glaus' 2003 rehab and his current one.

Mozeliak said after meeting in Phoenix that Glaus will not be duplicating the mistake again.

Disgraced sprinter has new options before her

Marion Jones, the disgraced sprinter, has signed for Women's National Basketball Association team, Tulsa Shock, and is expected to venture into a new career after she lost five Olympic medals for using steroids and being jailed for lying to federal prosecutors.

Jones spent 6 months in a federal prison for lying about steroids and her role in a check fraud.

From Guardian.co.uk:

Jones, who was awarded gold medals for winning the 100m, 200m and 4 x 400m relays at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and two bronzes in the long jump and 4x100m, admitted two years ago that she had taken steroids before, during and after the Games and was stripped of her five medals. She also spent about six months in a Texas federal prison for lying about doping and her role in a cheque fraud.

Jones said playing for the Shock is not about her past but instead fulfils her dream of playing basketball against some of the best players in the world.

"The word redemption is not in my vocabulary," Jones said at a news conference, flanked by the team's president, Steve Swetoha, and coach Nolan Richardson. "I'm a competitor, I want to play against the best in the world, and I know that I will be doing that."

The relationship between Jones and steroids is believed to seriously damage her prospects for a new career but her fans hope she can finally have a smile.

Former doctor rubbishes claims of Landis

Luis Garcia del Moral, the chief doctor of Lance Armstrong's United States Postal Service team when he conquered the Tour de France five times, has dismissed accusations against Lance Armstrong by Floyd Landis about use of banned drugs in the past.

Armstrong was accused of indulging into blood doping by Landis, which was vehemently denied by the seven-time Tour champion.

From Guardian.co.uk:

Del Moral, who oversaw the team's medical staff from 1999 to 2003, said he never witnessed any doping programmes during his time with the Johan Bruyneel-led American team.

Landis has accused Armstrong of blood doping, which the seven-times Tour champion denies.

Del Moral said Landis's allegations were "a joke" and that he was not aware of any cheating, saying: "I don't know anything about all of this." Del Moral said he would answer questions for federal investigators should he be summoned.

Professional sports have seen many link-ups between steroids and sports that are often without any concrete evidence and this case seems to fall in the same category.

Sponsors not deterred by case against Contador

The Danish investment bank, Saxo Bank, has recently communicated that it will continue to be the main sponsor of the cycling team that has its name even after its new rider, the three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador was suspended for doping.

A provisional suspension was handed over to Contador after a "very small concentration" of the banned substance clenbuterol was found by a World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Germany in a urine sample that was taken on 21 July, during the Tour.

From Guardian.co.uk:

"I am truly happy and grateful to know that Saxo Bank see the value in continuing their support of our team even before the adjudication and their decision to come through only underlines their integrity," said the team director, Bjarne Riis, in a statement. "The big mutual respect between us is a result of the strong and loyal partnership we have developed throughout the last couple of years."

Contador, who has signed a two-year contract with Saxo Bank, will lose his Tour de France title if he is convicted of doping. He also risks a two-year suspension.

The 27-year-old Spaniard said that the positive test was caused by "food contamination" and denied speculation that he also engaged in blood transfusions during the race.

"Of course, we hope that Alberto is acquitted and can ride as planned in 2011 but for now, we hold our nerve and await what will happen," said Riis, who owns the team.

Saxo Bank started its partnership with Riis in 2008 as a joint sponsor of the team and became the main sponsor in January 2009.

Speculations about anabolic steroids follow death of 21 horses

Twenty one horses from a Venezuelan team competing at the US Open Polo Championship died after they collapsed prior to a match in Florida.

James Belden, the team veterinarian for Lechuza Caracas, said it was unlikely that the horses died because of a tainted medication or anabolic steroids as they are banned in England where the team competes.

From in.reuters.com:

"From the reports I've received, they came out of their trailers and they were dizzy ... and began toppling over," said Terence McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture. "It's my understanding that all of these horses have died, 21 in total."
McElroy said 15 of the horses had been transported to a state facility in Kissimmee, where necropsies and other tests would be conducted. There was no obvious indication of what had caused the horses to collapse, he said.
The polo club, located in Wellington, about 70 miles (113 km) north of Miami, confirmed in a statement that horses had died but did not cite a number. It said the cause of death had not been determined.

Some believe that the reason behind death of all horses could be the use of anabolic steroids.

Children's supplements ignored by researchers

Health researchers, while trying to get a snapshot of the nation’s nutritional habits, do not consider the fact that more than 3 out of 10 American children take dietary supplements, according to a new study.

The most common supplement was multivitamins, as per researchers from the federal government and RTI International, a research institute.

From NYTimes.com:

The highest use of supplements in children was by 4- to 8-year-olds. Just under half the children in that group took them.

Pediatric groups, the study noted, recommend that healthy children fill their nutritional needs by eating well, and limit supplements to situations when there is reason for concern.

But a look at the dietary habits of more than 10,000 children from birth to age 18 made it clear that supplement use was fairly widespread — a factor that could affect other research.

“To truly assess the nutrient status and estimate the potential health risks of U.S. children,” the researchers write, “we must include nutrient intakes from dietary supplements as well as from food.”

The findings were presented in an issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

CSKA Moscow defenders fail drug tests

Sergei Ignashevich and Alexei Berezutsky of the CSKA Moscow have been handed over a suspension from a Group B Champions League match against Besiktas over a doping offence, according to a disclosure made by the Russian club and Uefa.

The defenders tested positive to a banned substance after the Champions League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

From Guardian.co.uk:

"Both players' A samples revealed the presence of a prohibited substance under the category 'S6. Stimulants' from the Wada [World Anti-Doping Agency] Prohibited List 2009," Uefa reported. The two players have been provisionally suspended until the case is heard by the European governing body's disciplinary committee on 17 December, the statement added.

CSKA said the pair had been the victims of a procedural error by the club's medical staff. "Our medical staff had made a technical error, failing to disclose cold medicine Sudafed during a doping test on 3 November in Manchester," the club said. The drug taken by Ignashevich and Berezutsky had not been on a banned list but still needed to be disclosed.

CSKA stands to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League only if they prove to be a better team than German champions Wolfsburg, who play Manchester United in the other Group B match.

Shane Carwin received steroids

The UFC Heavyweight contender, Shane Carwin, has been named by a US prosecutor as one of the 22 athletes receiving steroids from a drug ring in Alabama.

Carwin last faced Brock Lesnar, the UFC Heavyweight Champion, in first round of the championship battle and lost after appearing all set to win.

From Helium.com:

It is believed Shane Carwin took steroids in 2006. Shane Carwin joined the UFC in 2007 and won all his fights until he lost in the UFC Heavyweight Championship fight (at UFC 116) vs. Brock Lesnar. Shane Carwin has never tested positive for steroids at a UFC event. However, this does not conclude he has never taken steroids while fighting in the UFC. This means Shane Carwin was never tested while he was on steroids.

What does this mean to UFC fans? As a fan, it is a shame to have UFC fighters linked to steroids. It is true there are steroid users in every sport, professional wrestling being the biggest culprit when it comes to steroid use. The UFC is supposed to be better than the WWE. Now there is a former WWE fighter as the UFC Heavyweight Champion in Brock Lesnar. Is there proof he never took steroids when he fought in the WWE? Many people believe all WWE fighters have taken steroids. It is part of the fake game of wrestling. Linking one of the superstars of the UFC to steroids could have horrible effects on the UFC. Some fans won't care, but the die-hard fans will. Who wants to pay for another venue pitting fake athletes (infested with steroids) up against each other?

The name of Carwin in a drug racket has once again highlighted the speculations that WWE and UFC fighters take steroids to stay on a high.

Growing popularity of counterfeit drugs a cause of concern

The production and sale of counterfeit drugs in rich and poor countries is a cause of great concerns, as per experts. The risk is higher than ever since more and more unwary consumers are buying these drugs over the Internet.

Manufacturers of counterfeit drugs put people at risk of harm from products that could include too little, too much, or the wrong active ingredient and/or contain toxic ingredients, according to Margaret Hamburg, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

From in.reuters.com:

"Counterfeiting is growing in complexity, scale and geographic scope," she said in a speech to the annual ministerial meeting of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In wealthy countries, counterfeiting often involves "expensive hormones, steroids and anti-cancer medicines and pharmaceuticals related to lifestyle," a WHO report said.

But in developing countries, especially Africa, counterfeit medicines are commonly available to treat life-threatening conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, it said.

Nigeria, referring to a case involving tainted teething syrup in Feb. 2009, said the consequences were often deadly.

"Only last year we lost 84 children in Nigeria due to fraudulent practices in some countries. It is lives we are talking about," Nigeria's delegate told the talks.

Research and development-based pharmaceutical companies have said that counterfeit medicines pose a danger to patients and they are not driven by commercial interest in fighting the scourge.

Chambers breaks 10-second barrier again

Dwain Chambers of Great Britain recently clocked a championship record 9.99 seconds to win the men's 100 meters at the European team championship in Bergen.

Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre with 10.02 and seconds and Italy's Emanuele Di Gregorio with 10.20 seconds occupied the second and third positions, respectively.

From in.reuters.com:

It was Chambers's best performance since he ran 9.99 at the 2001 world championships and was 0.02 seconds outside his personal best, set in Seville in 1999.

The 32-year-old was banned from athletics for two years in 2003 for testing positive for steroids. He returned to competition in 2006.

Chambers is expected to compete at the European championships in Barcelona in July.

At the end of the first day of in the team championship, Russia led Britain by 209 points to 188. The event concludes on Sunday.

The woes of Chambers related to use of steroids seem to have ended now for good and the star athlete is all set to prove critics wrong again.

Law on dietary supplements reviewed by Congress

Offices of many companies suspected of making bodybuilding products that illegally contain steroids and are sold as over-the-counter dietary supplements were raided by the federal agents.

A warning to consumers was issued by the FDA for not to use products marketed as bodybuilding products and containing steroids or that claims to enhance testosterone.

From NYTimes.com:

Now Congress is investigating whether laws, health agency resources and manufacturing guidelines are adequate to protect the public from products that illegally contain steroids but masquerade as dietary supplements.

Under the law, dietary supplements are generally defined as products that contain or are derived from natural foodstuffs like minerals or herbs and do not claim to prevent, mitigate or cure specific illnesses.

But when products marketed as supplements are found to contain pharmaceutical ingredients like steroids, the federal government considers them misbranded — and unapproved illegal drugs.

Many companies exploit the absence of premarket regulation for selling magic powders and pills while using reputation of the health food industry to cloak themselves with the appearance of respectability and safety, as per Travis T. Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Hydroxycut diet aids recalled

Citing reports of a death due to liver failure and other instances of serious health problems, the Federal drug regulators have warned consumers not to use the Hydroxycut line of weight loss products.

The FDA said that it had received twenty three reports of significant adverse health effects such as heart problems, muscle damage, and kidney damage in people making use of Hydroxycut.

From NYTimes.com:

The Hydroxycut brand, which has been widely sold at national chain stores including GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe, includes pills, drinks and powders marketed to increase energy, burn calories and fat, and control appetite. The maker reported selling more than nine million units of the brand last year, according to the F.D.A.

That company, Iovate Health Sciences of Oakville, Ontario, and its American distributor are voluntarily recalling 14 of the products. Two other products, Hydroxycut Cleanse and Hoodia, with different ingredients, are not affected by the recall. Calls to the company’s Canadian headquarters reached a recorded message that directed callers to the Hydroxycut Web site.

The recall of one of the best-known weight-loss brands is the latest in a series of incidents that raise the question of whether the Food and Drug Administration has adequate authority to regulate the dietary supplement industry and provide consumer protection.

At issue is the difference in the way the agency oversees drugs — defined as products that prevent or cure disease — and dietary supplements, which can offer general health benefits but cannot claim to treat specific diseases or symptoms.

Part of the problem is that the FDA looks at dietary supplements from a postmarket perspective and a single incident is often difficult to follow, according to Dr. Linda Katz, interim chief medical officer of the agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Coach of disgraced Johnson dies at 61

The Canadian coach, Charlie Francis, who trained star sprinter Ben Johnson, died in Toronto at the age of 61 years. Francis coached Johnson who was the first Olympic champion to be stripped of a gold medal after testing positive for anabolic steroids.

Francis became increasingly frustrated in the late 1970s and ’80s after getting poor response from the international track officials when it comes to punishing athletes using performance enhancing drugs, according to Richard Pound, a former vice president of the I.O.C.

From NYTimes.com:

In 1989, Francis was barred for life from coaching in Canada when he told an inquiry that Johnson and 10 other athletes had used performance-enhancing drugs as part of training programs he designed.
Francis continued to advise runners from around the world, in books, on the Internet and in person. For a time in 2003, the American sprinters Marion Jones and her companion, Tim Montgomery, worked with him in Toronto. Responding to pressure from sponsors and track officials, Jones and Montgomery left Francis. Both later admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.
“Charlie’s legacy is multi-layered,” said Dr. Steven Ungerleider, a psychologist and author of “Faust’s Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine.” “He wasn’t just an isolated coach, with an isolated athlete; he left this legacy that contaminated some of the greatest track stars of the world.”

It is worth noting here that Francis made an unapologetic admission that his athletes used performance enhancing drugs and IOC officials only thereafter formulated plans to handle incidents of drug abuse in sports.

Judge blocks suspension of five players

A federal judge has blocked, at least temporarily, the suspensions handed down to five NFL players (Pat Williams and Kevin Williams of the Minnesota Vikings and Deuce McAllister, Charles Grant and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints) for violating anti-doping policy of the league.

More time is needed for passing a ruling on the case involving the NFL players, as per U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson.

From Espnstar.com:

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail to PA SportsTicker on Friday that the league is confident Magnuson will uphold the suspensions once he has time to fully review all aspects of the case.

"We welcome that scrutiny," Aiello said. "We are confident that, once he has had an opportunity to review all of the relevant materials, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement, he will uphold our longstanding agreements with the NFLPA that protect the health and safety of NFL players and the integrity of our game."

Magnuson heard arguments from attorneys for the players' union and the NFL in a three-hour hearing before rendering his decision shortly after a recess Friday.

The players were suspended Tuesday after testing positive for Bumetanide, a banned diuretic that can mask the presence of other substances, including steroids.

However, the NFLPA said in its lawsuit that league officials were aware that a supplement called StarCaps contained the banned substance but failed to share that information with players.

Magnuson wrote in his ruling that the case issues are contentious and complex and it is not easy to find out in two days that remain before the players at issue are next scheduled to take the field.

Police issued warning for steroids

The Laval Police has issued to all who have bought steroids on the black market after they found out that a clandestine lab was dealing in many products made in filthy conditions.

The police warned that any one who has made use of drugs identified with the label Sun labs should immediately seek medical advice and those who have such products should immediately dispose them off.

From Montrealgazette.com:

"What they found on the main floor were large bags of powders and jugs of liquids. Some were labelled, others weren't," Laval police Constable Nathalie Lorrain said.

After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found 200 vials ready for sale containing a liquid labelled as an anabolic steroid. A small vial of growth hormone was also seized, along with pills, more than 9,000 empty vials, a machine used to seal them and a machine to make pills. Labels from what is believed to be a fictitious pharmaceutical company were also found.

"The worst thing was that the liquid we found, which could be injected, was made in very dirty conditions. All the pots and bottles we found were very dirty," Lorrain said.

"Also, there were so many powders and chemicals that we can't identify them. We have to wait for Health Canada to analyze them. We think there could be a lot of chemicals that are bad for your health.

The patrol officers found the products after receiving a call about a break-in about a home on Leandre Descotes St.

Soares defends case on steroids

An Albany judge has been asked to forge ahead by prosecutors with a criminal trial for five Florida pharmacy operators accused of being at the center of an alleged illegal steroids business. The steroids case drew national interest in 2007 but has since then brought attacks on office of the Albany County district attorney.

The remaining criminal case targeting the pharmacist-owners of Orlando's former Signature Compounding Pharmacy has been languished for three years and exposed illegal steroid use by professional athletes and others.

From Timesunion.com:

More than 15 people, including doctors and business owners, pleaded guilty to related drug charges in a case that exposed systemic abuse of prescription drug laws. But the case against the pharmacists and their managers, who were also targets of a related federal criminal investigation, has thrust a spotlight on District Attorney David Soares' decision to indict operators of a faraway company that did a small percentage of its multi-million-dollar business in New York state and Albany County.

Two years ago an Albany County judge threw out the first indictment against the pharmacy's operators, citing prosecutorial missteps in the grand jury proceedings. A month later, the pharmacists fought back with a federal civil rights lawsuit in Florida seeking millions of dollars in damages for false arrest and malicious prosecution. They sued Soares, an assistant district attorney, the Orlando Police Department and other law enforcement officials.

But their criminal case in New York was not over. Earlier this year a state appellate court reversed a portion of the county judge's dismissal order that barred prosecutors from bringing a new indictment, which they did in June.

Soares not only participated in, but also directed the Assistant District attorney and others for violating plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment right to be free from unlawful arrests.

Contraceptive pills effective for controlling severe premenstrual disorder

According to a recently concluded study, a low dose of oral contraceptive shows as much efficacy as the standard treatment for the most severe form of premenstrual syndrome, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

Kimberly Yonkers, M.D., associate professor in the departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology and Public Health and lead author of the study, remarked that individuals with this complication generally cyclical mood, behavioral and physical symptoms.

From News-medical.net:

In this multi-center, double-blind, randomized clinical trial, 450 women ages 18 to 40, from 64 medical centers across the country with symptoms of PMDD, were given either the oral contraceptive or a placebo.

It was found that the women who were given the oral contraceptive had significantly greater improvement, over 48 percent compared to 36 percent, of women on the placebo.

They experienced greater enjoyment of hobbies, social activities, and interpersonal relationships, and greater symptom reduction.

It seems that forty-four women from both groups withdrew from the study due to adverse effects such as nausea and intermenstrual bleeding.

The low dose oral contraceptive contained drospirenone, a new progestin, and ethinyl estradiol.

In the study it was taken for 24 days followed by four days of inactive pills, which differs from traditional courses of therapy which have seven days of inactive pills.

It was remarked by researchers at Yale School of Medicine that a low dose of oral contraceptive with a unique progestin and dosing regimen is good enough for treating PMDD along with suppressing ovarian activity.

Marion Jones all set to join basketball

Marion Jones, the disgraced sprinter, who lost five Olympic medals after testing positive for steroids and jailed for lying to federal prosecutors has signed for the Tulsa Shock, Women's National Basketball Association team.

Jones spent six months in a federal prison after she lied about use of steroids and her role in a cheque fraud.

From Guardian.co.uk:

Jones, who was awarded gold medals for winning the 100m, 200m and 4 x 400m relays at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and two bronzes in the long jump and 4x100m, admitted two years ago that she had taken steroids before, during and after the Games and was stripped of her five medals. She also spent about six months in a Texas federal prison for lying about doping and her role in a cheque fraud.

Jones said playing for the Shock is not about her past but instead fulfils her dream of playing basketball against some of the best players in the world.

"The word redemption is not in my vocabulary," Jones said at a news conference, flanked by the team's president, Steve Swetoha, and coach Nolan Richardson. "I'm a competitor, I want to play against the best in the world, and I know that I will be doing that."

The former sprinter may have been a success with athletics but her association with disgrace and doping is bound to have a serious effect on how sport fans accept her.

Harvard Chemists synthesize HGH group

The synthesis of a family of hormones that could be of as much medical importance as the steroid drugs are today has been made by a Harvard Research Group. The steroids that can be classified as another group of hormones are the active ingredients in drugs such as birth control pills.

Detailed report of the research appeared in an issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

From Thecrimson.com:

Major Effects

Earlier researchers have intensively studied the prostaglandins because of indications that even as little as a billionth of an ounce of the hormones could have major effects on many different body processes.

Some have been found to speed up or to slow heart rate, to raise or lower blood pressure, to control deposits of fat inside blood vessels, or to change nervous activity in the brain. And present studies are testing their capability in birth control and the ability to withstand stress.

Icelandic Sheep

But all of these studies have been limited by the difficulty of obtaining working amounts of the hormones in pure form. The largest of the present meager sources is in extracts from the tests of Icelandic sheep.

Since all the prostaglandins have a closely similar chemical structure--based on a backbone of a ring of 5 carbon atoms to which 15 others are attached--synthesis of all members of the family should be a relatively easy matter. This will make possible their production in large enough quantities for research into their medical uses.

The group, which was led by Elias J. Corey, professor of Chemistry and chairman of the Chemistry department, was able to synthesize five members of a class of fifteen hormones called as prostaglandins.

Potential detection system for performance enhancing drugs

A potential detection system that can be used to test athletes for performance enhancing drugs is currently under the development stage by scientists at the University of Nottingham.

The research is considered to provide a more reliable way of detecting drug molecules in the body.

From News-medical.net:

Some methods overcome these problems but add carbon to the target molecule, irreversibly overprinting the carbon source ‘signal’. The research into hydropyrolysis, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, has developed a new approach that delicately strips molecules of their ‘sticky’ parts but retains the carbon skeleton intact, allowing easy detection of the carbon source.

The new detection system could allow scientists to pinpoint banned substances in an athlete’s system — even the new designer steroid specifically manufactured to avoid detection recently uncovered by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

Professor Snape added: "Our discovery of a method to produce easy to handle molecules without destroying their carbon source signal opens up the whole body’s molecules to intense scientific scrutiny."

The research is led by Professor Colin Snape in the University’s School of Chemical, Environmental and Mining Engineering and published recently in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry.

Two-year ban for British hurdler

Callum Priestley, the British hurdler, has been handed over a two-year ban and possibly face a lifetime Olympic ban after testing positive for drugs.

UK Anti-doping confirmed that Priestley's suspension will run until February 2012 after he tested positive for Clenbuterol, the steroid used in asthma medications.

From Guardian.co.uk:

The National Anti-Doping Panel's written decision says Priestley, who won the 60m hurdles at the world indoor trials in February, was unable to explain how the Clenbuterol came to be in his body. He initially suggested that the most likely source was contamination of supplements that he had been taking on the advice of a nutritionist, but scientific tests have failed to detect any trace of those.

"The athlete now believes that the most likely source was meat from animals or poultry which had been treated with steroids, but again it has not proved possible to produce any scientific or other evidence to substantiate the theory that any meat which he ate in South Africa was so contaminated," says the NADP report.

As Priestley was unable to prove no fault or negligence on his part, the panel imposed a two-year ban back-dated to February this year when he was initially suspended. He does have the right to appeal.

Andy Parkinson, the chief executive of UK Anti-Doping, said that this case should act as a warning to all athletes that there is no place to hide from their responsibilities, no matter where they are, or whether they are competing.

Cornette says WWE is all about use of steroids

The veteran commentator, promoter and booker for TNA, Jim Cornette, recently aired his sentiments over the worsening condition of wrestling by disclosing that more and more wrestlers are being forced into drugs. The remark is seen by many as a dent to image of Vince McMahon and past reports that the WWE owner doesn't encourage the use of steroids.

It was also revealed by Cornette that McMahon is keen to promote larger-than-life stars in WWE and the wrestlers are often left with no choice but to embrace steroids for keeping a high-profile job in the wrestling business.

From Pwtorch.com:

Cornette views Andrew "Test" Martin as an example of a wrestler being re-hired because he has a certain look and not for any additional talent he could bring to the table. Cornette says Martin probably felt the need to look a certain way, which required use of steroids.

"As far as Test goes, it's a tragedy that a guy is 33 years old and is gone because he got involved in professional wrestling," Cornette said recently on the Who's Slamming Who podcast. "In the old days, everybody was a cowboy and if they did drugs, they did it for recreation because they were making too much money. That's almost easier to take, to me, than guys feeling like they have to do drugs to keep a job or they have to do drugs because their bodies are so broken down from the style that they get addicted to them."

Cornette says the combination of hardcore wrestling and fewer jobs in wrestling have made it difficult for wrestlers to stay away from an addictive lifestyle. Moves don't mean as much, so wrestlers have to use weapons that lead to pain pill addiction. Fewer jobs are available with only one major player, so wrestlers have to look a certain way to get major-league work.

There just don't seem to be a coming back for the wrestlers, especially when they have shorter life-spans in the business and in life.

Investigations against Mark McGwire for steroid use

The retired slugger, Mark McGwire, has refused to identify players participating in Major League baseball making use of steroids.

McGwire, one of six current and former stars appearing before the House Government Reform Committee, however did not say if he had made use of steroids himself.

From News.bbc.co.uk:

McGwire, who ranks sixth in Major League history with 583 home runs, said: "Steroids are wrong. Don't take them. It gives you nothing but false hope.

"What I will not do, however, is participate in naming names and implicating my friends and teammates."

Former batter Canseco wrote a best-selling book which claimed steroids were rampant in baseball. In it he wrote that he injected McGwire.

However, Canseco told the hearing he could not fully answer its questions because of concerns his testimony could be used against him.

Earlier, US Senator Jim Bunning, a major league player for 17 years, said: "Baseball needs to know we are watching.

"They owe it to all of us to prove they are fixing this terrible problem. If not, we will have to do it for them."

Henry Waxman, Committee ranking minority member, remarked that the baseball league has failed to honor trust and has not acted in a responsible manner to protect ball players.

Image fix is biggest reason to use steroids for men

Young men are increasingly making use of steroids for improving their self-image. It is considered that the numbers of anabolic steroid users is growing at an all-time high and the same has been alarmingly high over the last 3-5 years though the official figures do not reveal the complete truth.

The issue was the subject of a conference being held in Liverpool.

From News.bbc.co.uk:

Head of Substance Use at the Centre Jim McVeigh said the increasing use of such drugs was a major public health issue.

He claims that many of those who take these drugs, in particular anabolic steroids, are suffering with both physically and psychologically effects.

Dr Rob Dawson, the medical officer at the Drugs in Sport Clinic, said he believed too much time had been spent concentrating on the use of performance enhancing drugs by athletes when this was just the tip of the iceberg.

"The main body [of users] consists of anabolic steroids users who are not engaged in competitive sport.

The event was organized by The Centre for Public Health at John Moores University in Liverpool.

Lesser cardiovascular events for post-transplant patients without steroids

Benefits are easy to come for post-transplant patients not administered with corticosteroids when compared to their counterparts on steroids, as per transplantation researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC).

This finding was presented by researchers with the Division of transplantation and department of internal medicine at the American Transplant Congress (ATC), the annual meeting of the American Society of Transplantation on May 1-5 in San Diego.

From Sciencedaily.com:

UC researchers are also reporting results of shared protocols on the bortezomib treatment for antibody-mediated rejection. After presenting their bortezomib findings at the 2009 ATC, UC researchers created the START collaborative to share standard of care treatment protocols for bortezomib therapies. Through the collaborative, transplant centers worldwide have requested this information to treat individual patients with a variety of solid organ transplant types.

"The information shared from this partnership represents an international collaborative experience of treating this unmet need in transplantation that inevitably results in graft loss," says Alloway. "Because transplant centers may have one to five antibody-mediated cases a year, it's difficult to assess a potential new treatment. But when you are able to share every center's cases together in one report, it's easier to identify trends that support definitive design of future controlled trials."

The researchers reported that post-transplant patients off steroids experienced fewer cardiovascular events, improved graft survival rates, and reduced early mortality than patients administered with steroids.

Birth control pills reduce muscle training gains

Female athletes making use of oral contraception may pay a big price in the form of lowered strength gains from resistance exercise, according to a recent study.

Birth control pills were identified as a major suspect behind some women not able to garner the same benefits as others from exercises like working against tension bands or lifting weights, as per exercise physiologist Chang Woock Lee and his colleagues at Texas A&M University at the Experimental Biology meeting in New Orleans.

From Sciencenews.org:

In an earlier study, Lee’s group noted that many young female athletes reported using oral contraception. These pills have been specifically formulated to alter a woman’s steroid-hormone levels. Since certain steroids can affect how efficiently the body bulks up and gains muscle, Lee wondered whether these pills might also limit strength gains.

So, three times a week for 10 weeks, the researchers had 73 young women (18 to 34 years old) complete 13 different exercises. The regimen was intense, working muscles throughout the body. None of the recruits had been regularly working out beforehand. But they sure were now. Each had to complete her resistance training against weights that were individually tailored to work her muscles at 75 percent of their maximum strength.

Women administered with oral contraceptives including medium- or highly androgenic progestins were able to attain less than a 0.5 percent muscle mass gains over as period of ten weeks.

Cells mediating steroid-resistant asthma identified

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have been able to identify cells that can play a critical role in some forms of steroid-resistant asthma, which is a complication of the condition that makes treatment even more challenging.

The study was published in an issue of the Journal of Immunology.

From Sciencedaily.com:

More than 22 million Americans (including 9 million children) are diagnosed with asthma, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As many as 50 percent of them have asthma that can be resistant to steroids, which are intended to reduce lung inflammation during an asthma attack, Dr. Kolls said.

"Asthma is a challenging condition to treat. For many patients, if they take preventive medications regularly, the condition can be controlled and they can lead relatively normal lives," Dr. Kolls said. "Inhaled steroids are an important treatment for patients to prevent asthma attacks. Unfortunately, some patients have attacks despite the use of inhaled steroids, meaning they don't respond to steroids or they need such high doses that side effects are experienced."

It was remarked by study's senior author, Jay K. Kolls, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, Allergy and Immunology at Children's Hospital that discovery of a lineage of cells known as T Helper Type 17 (Th17) can be useful in helping scientists to develop new treatments and exercise a better control on the disease.