Author(s): Dr. Mohan D Kadwe

Abstract:
“Doping” refers to the use of banned substances in competitive sports. Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) is another term used to for drugs used by athletes to improve their athletic performance. Regardless of one's stance on the topic, drugs are an important issue in sports. Sports pages in newspapers around the globe routinely report on athletes at every level of competition using performance enhancing substances to gain an unfair advantage over their competitors. The level of sophistication in beating drug testing, and developing "next-generation" agents continues to raise. The relative paucity of well designed research has been an additional factor impeding attempts to adequately address the problem. Very limited funds are currently available to conduct the necessary research. Without credible data, athletes are more vulnerable to the claims made by those benefiting from the sales of these compounds. Narcotics and analgesics, anabolic steroids, hormones, selective androgen receptor modulators are among the most frequently utilized substances. Although ant doping controls are becoming more rigorous, doping and, very importantly, masking doping methods are also advancing, and these are usually one step ahead of doping detection techniques. Depending on the sport practiced and the physical attributes it requires, the athletes will look for one or more of the following benefits of doping: recovering from an injury, increasing body recovery capacity after training, increasing muscle mass and strength, decreasing fat tissue, increasing endurance. Finally, when we look once again at a doping scandal, amazed at how much animosity against those caught can exist; the question is: is it really such a disaster as presented by the media or a silent truth under our eyes, but which many of us have refused to accept?.

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