Just a little pinprick

SWIFTER, higher, stronger. Those are the ideals of the modern Olympics, a temple to physical and mental perfection, the climax of years of r...

SWIFTER, higher, stronger. Those are the ideals of the modern Olympics, a temple to physical and mental perfection, the climax of years of rigour and the pinnacle of sporting success. In 1896, the first year, they worked. The games lasted 10 days, there were 300 participants 8212; all men 8212; and only one medal, a silver, to be won for each event.

Forward to 2004. The games go on for three weeks, there are 10,500 athletes and just 903 medals are up for grabs. So, goes the conclusion, one needs all the help one can get. Even if it comes in a little pill or ampule.

Performance-enhancers? That8217;s what the onlookers call it. According to former WHO drug expert Dr C M Gulati, editor, Monthly Index of Medical Specialities, and Dr Prateek Kumar Gupta, consultant in sports medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, there are almost as many categories of drugs as there are events. The World Anti-Doping Code, published by the World Anti-Doping Agency, governs them across sports and countries.

Topping the list of banned substances are stimulants 8212; modafinils, amphetamines, amineptines, mesocarp, selegiline, all of which stimulate the nerves and muscles and push fatigue thresholds. Next come narcotics, natural and synthetic, including morphine, methadone, dimorphine etc, which inhibit the pain-bearing signals to the brain. So, instead of collapsing after 300 m, the body can go on for another 200 m.

Anabolic agents or steroids 8212; danazol, testosterone which Pratima tested positive for and stanozolol which Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was found to have used in the Seoul Olympics in 1988 8212; are the commonest drugs in sports since they build up the body and, over a period of time, increase muscle bulk and allow them to work harder. There are other physical fallouts too: hirsuteness, irregular menstrual cycles, coarse voices in women, and reproductive problems in men.

Diuretics, which reduce body weight, are popular with borderline boxers and weightlifters who can compete in a lower-weight category. Peptide and glycoprotein hormones and analogs increase the presence of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, thereby allowing the athlete to push the body further.

So much for the banned substances. According to Drs Gulati and Gupta, the WADA also bans blood doping or auto-transfusion, and pharmacological, chemical and physical manipulation. In the past, athletes were known to remove upto a litre of blood from their bodies, and have it re-injected before a big race. Now, athletes use genetically engineered drugs that serve the same purpose: increasing the RBC count.

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Easy as these methods seem, they are also easy to detect. That8217;s where manipulation comes in, to mask the use of banned drugs during tests. Epistestosterone, probenecid and plasma expanders can bind with the banned drug to avoid detection. To further ensure secrecy, athletes are known to go in for catherisation, urine substitution or tampering, even inhibit renal secretion.

While most substances show up in tests, 8216;8216;masking agents and other techniques do allow some people to get away,8217;8217; admits Dr Gupta.

And things are bound to get even more complicated. Gene doping is the way of the future, and it8217;s almost undetectable. Scientists have figured out how to copy genes in a lab, and then transplant them into humans. From there to a faster mile, a higher jump, a stronger pull is only a jab away.