I just watched a video tape about climbing Mt Everest. The same story as in
the excellent 1997 book "Into Thin Air." People spend a great deal of money
and time to climb Mt. Everest. Most use bottled oxygen, why not EPO? Anyone
heard of high altitude climbers using EPO?
Tom Derderian, at sea-level, in Boston
----- Original Message -----
From: Buck Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Jason Wiens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; T&F <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 5:23 PM
Subject: Re: t-and-f: EPO Question
> Hi Jason,
>
> You're a physiologist and you probably studied a lot of this, so forgive
me
> if I'm telling you things you already know.
>
> Based on my guesses from prescribed doses used to treat anemia in
> chemotherapy patients, a typical regimen would run $300-$500 a week.
That's
> based on typical pharmacy prices, if you're buying it black market who
> knows? Obviously it's a prescription drug and is illegal to obtain or
> possess without such. It comes in several formulations - either one dose
> per vial or many per vial. The difference is whether a preservative is
> added. A report came out recently indicating that some clinics were
pooling
> and re-using the remainder of the 'one-dose' vials - lead to a bunch of
sick
> patients.
>
> The drug is injected, either i.v. or subcutaneously (like insulin). You
can
> learn to do that yourself with training. You would definitely need
someone
> with medical training to do hematocrit testing on a regular basis
(weekly?).
> The danger with EPO is driving your hematocrit too high leading to
> myocardial infarction or stroke - both bad. My guess is that one loses
the
> normal homeostatic regulation of hematocrit when taking the drug
exogenously
> (i.e. from outside the body). Normally you body responds to high
hematocrit
> by slowing down natural production of EPO. It may also remove RBC's more
> quickly - not sure about the latter, but I'd bet on it. I would also bet
> that EPO inhibits the latter process - that's how things tend to work.
When
> one takes EPO, despite a high crit, EPO is still present and will inhibit
> the bodies normal homeostatic reaction.
>
> The same kind of thing happens over time with diabetics and insulin. They
> lose the normal ability to correct hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) by
> secreting glucagon (the hormone that stimulates release of glucose from
the
> liver). It's a side-effect of chronic injections of insulin and is part
of
> why they are so susceptible to hypoglycemia with insulin over-doses.
>
> Many don't know this, but the other thing that is required is iron
> supplementation. Doping with EPO increases the synthesis of RBC's, and
thus
> of hemoglobin. Without the iron, you could take all the EPO you wanted
> without making a difference.
>
> So, if one wants to dope, all one has to do is find a doctor or pharmacist
> who is willing to lose his or her license and perhaps go to prison, stick
> yourself with a needle three times a week (four if you count the
hematocrit
> test), pony up $2000 a month, risk your health, and give up any self
> respect.
>
> Plus, given that you can legally drive your hematocrit up to the highest
> levels I would consider safe by moving to Albuquerque, I think it's really
> stupid.
>
> My personal opinion is that it doesn't happen in college that much.
>
> Cheers,
> Buck Jones
>
> p.s. To those like Garry Hill who might consider this naught but 'Reefer
> madness' scare tactics, I know what I'm talking about and will be glad to
> debate my opinions. I single Garry out because he has stated his stance
> before - maybe he's reformed :-)
>
> ___________________________
> Carleton 'Buck' Jones, Ph.D.
> Division of Pharmacology/College of Pharmacy
> The Ohio State University
> 500 W. 12th Avenue
> Columbus, OH 43210
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 614-688-3527
> 614-292-9083 (FAX)
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jason Wiens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: Track and Field List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 9:44 AM
> Subject: t-and-f: EPO Question
>
>
>
> I'm wondering what people think the prevalence of EPO use is among College
> athletes? How would factors like cost, availability, access to a medical
> doctor affect the use and possibly make its use prohibitive?
>
> Thank you for your help,
>
> Jason
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Anything that enters your HEART changes YOU!
> _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
> _/ Research Associate _/
> _/ Department of VCAPP _/
> _/ Washington State University _/
> _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
> "To love a person is to see them as God intended them to be."
> --Dostoyevsky
>
>
