Diuretics and Masking Agents

Diuretics are products which help to remove body fluids. They cause a lost of water due to partial paralysis of water reabsorption. Powerful diuretics can increase orine flow about 6 liters per day.

Masking agents are compounds which are taken with the purpose of hide or mask the presence of others ilegal drugs during the antidoping tests. Masking agents have the potential of ruin or hide the prohibited substance in orine. For that reason, diuretics can be considered as masking agents due to orine dilution that give rise to smaller levels of the prohibited substance when is excrete by the body.

Diuretics and others masking agents has the 5º position among the most used drugs of all adverse analyzed results in the world. They are prohibited both inside and outside the competition. In the following image we can see specifically which are prohibited by WADA:

Kidney is the main organ trough these drugs are excreted.  Chemically, diuretics are a group of compunds which stimulate or inhibit several hormones that are naturally present in the body for regulate the orine production by kidneys.

Athletes use diuretics with the purpose of lose weigth quickly, specillay in that sports classified by weigth categories, and/or to cover the presence of other prohibited substances. However, the fluid losses through orine causes by this kind of drugs can lead to the depletion of intravascular volume. For that reason, an overage diuretics use generally drive to dehydration and hypovolemia, which is one of the main causes of hypokalemia. This situation may produce effecst as hypotension, muscular weakness, muscle cramps, irregular neurological functioning, cardiac arrhythmias or even heart attacks.

Dianabol - Advantages and side effects.

Metandienone, also known clinically as methandienone or methandrostenolone, and commercialised under the brand name Dianabol or Naposim, is one of the famoust androgen anabolic steroid (AAS).  

Dianabol had his peak in the 1970s, and it is taken by mouth, although also can be injected. Nowadays, it is still used due to his quick effects in gains of muscle mass, is easy to get and is cheaper than the most steroids.

For these reasons, Dianabol is used for physique and performance enhancing purposes, mainly in bodybuilders or strength athletes. It is believed to be the most widely used AAS for such aims but today and historically. On the other hand, therapeutic use of Dianabol has been aimed to the treatment of hypogonadism and osteoporosis. 

Dianabol working deacresing cortisone which is propitious for muscle mass enhancing due to the catabolic effects of the corticoids hormones. Increase blood testosterone concentration and provide feelings of wellbeing, improve appetite and mood, and also speed muscle recovery.

Obviusly, this steroid also have important side effects. It is commong that it is transformed into estrogen, that will cause gynecomastia and fluid retention. Since decreasing the natural testosterone production, can generate testicular atrophy. Moreover, Dianabol is a product strongly toxic for the liver, so that more likely the Dianabol consum could result in liver damage. Besides all this, the Dianabol intake can cause oily skin, acne, seborrhea, increased facial/body hair growth, scalp hair loss and virilization, typical androgenic side effects. 

Knowing the Gene Doping.

The gene is the biologic unit of the heredity and they are simplified codes for the protein synthesis. In some cases, these genes are defective and have wrong information that entail a lack or viceverse in the protein synthesis. In this join, the genetic therapy will try to repair the defective gene. But in the same way, it will be possible modify the genes with the purpose of achieve a biological advantange that can enhance the sport performance.

That fact cause that the WADA considered the gene doping as a ilegal method in the prohibid list. The following procedures are consider by the WADA as prohibited, since they have the potential to enhance performance:

1. The use of polymers of nucleic acids or nucleic acid analogues.

 2. The use of gene editing agents designed to alter genome sequences and/or the transcriptional or epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

3. The use of normal or genetically modified cells

However, is not easy to detec that genes have been modified. In the physical activity context there are several genes that carry the information of enhance endurance (EPO) or proteins which increase the muscle mass (Growth hormone).

Nowadays, the genetic therapy is not aprobed medically since could deliver in nocive effect. In a short term, this method can produce hard inmune-respone that could cause the death or the development of diseases as leukemia. In the long term, due to the lack of control of the gene expression, the integrates genes could produce substances althoug they are not required, which could increase the risk of tumours or lead to cardiovascular problems.

What's doping?

Hi everyone, today I will talk about doping, specifically about the most commonly used methods of doping. In the next presentation I will do a little presentation of these methods of doping, the uses and the hide effects of these.





I hope you enjoyed this presentation. We would appreciate if you left us in the comments that you thought the presentation and what you would like to see in the next post.

Thanks for watching, see you in the next post.