Danishfurniturelover
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http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/comment/whats-deal-asthma-pro-cycling-223300
Well worth a read for anyone interested in sport, doping and health... I shall copy and paste some of they key bits for those to lazy to click the link, 21% of the British Olympic team has Asthma.
CW: Tell us about terbutaline
Dr John dingdonginson: Terbutaline is a drug classified as a beta-2 agonist that athletes may use to treat asthma. There are lots of different types of beta-2 agonist available for medical use, but only four of them are allowed to be used by athletes: salmeterol,salbutamol, formoterol and terbutaline. The odd thing about Simon Yates’s case is that terbutaline is the only one of the four that requires a therapeutic use exemption (TUE). Partly for this reason, it is far less commonly used by athletes.
Why is it the only one for which a TUE is required?
This is because there are different ways you can take beta-2 agonists: inhaled form or orally in pill form. Salmeterol doesn’t have an oral form; when testing for salbutamol and formoterol, you can distinguish between an inhaled dose and an orally ingested dose – but you can’t with terbutaline.
What’s the maximum dosage?
With terbutaline, you have to submit a TUE to prove that you have asthma. The controversial part is that once you have your TUE you can use as much as you like. A doctor would normally prescribe a therapeutic dosage, which would not normally be performance-enhancing, but there is nothing from that point to stop the athlete taking larger doses.
Is it performance-enhancing?
There is evidence emerging that large doses of terbutaline in inhaled form may improve sprint and power performance, but there is no strong evidence to suggest they would improve endurance performance. From a performance-enhancement point of view, these drugs don’t improve lung function. They are called beta-2 agonists because they act directly on beta-2 adrenoreceptors in the muscle, which improves the strength and power produced in each muscle contraction. It works in a similar way to adrenaline. Essentially you’re getting better adaptations in sprinting and power performance. From an endurance point of view for a cyclist, there are not many gains to be had.
What is the prevalence of asthma among elite sportspeople?
In terms of the research we have done, around 21 per cent of the British Olympic team were using an inhaler. It’s higher in sports with a high aerobic element such as cycling and swimming. Some reports suggest that around 40 per cent of British Olympic cyclists use an inhaler, and it’s similar in other sports that have a high ventilatory requirement.
Why such a high proportion?
Athletes are more susceptible to asthma than the general population. The reason is that when you’re exercising you’re breathing in larger volumes of air, which, if you are susceptible, increases the dose of potential triggers for an asthma response. In cycling, you increase the amount of dry air going into your airway; and out on the road there is air pollution as well. Therefore you are more likely to trigger an inflammatory response, which is likely to cause asthma symptoms. Athletes increase their exposure, so they increase the chances of developing the condition.
Well worth a read for anyone interested in sport, doping and health... I shall copy and paste some of they key bits for those to lazy to click the link, 21% of the British Olympic team has Asthma.
CW: Tell us about terbutaline
Dr John dingdonginson: Terbutaline is a drug classified as a beta-2 agonist that athletes may use to treat asthma. There are lots of different types of beta-2 agonist available for medical use, but only four of them are allowed to be used by athletes: salmeterol,salbutamol, formoterol and terbutaline. The odd thing about Simon Yates’s case is that terbutaline is the only one of the four that requires a therapeutic use exemption (TUE). Partly for this reason, it is far less commonly used by athletes.
Why is it the only one for which a TUE is required?
This is because there are different ways you can take beta-2 agonists: inhaled form or orally in pill form. Salmeterol doesn’t have an oral form; when testing for salbutamol and formoterol, you can distinguish between an inhaled dose and an orally ingested dose – but you can’t with terbutaline.
What’s the maximum dosage?
With terbutaline, you have to submit a TUE to prove that you have asthma. The controversial part is that once you have your TUE you can use as much as you like. A doctor would normally prescribe a therapeutic dosage, which would not normally be performance-enhancing, but there is nothing from that point to stop the athlete taking larger doses.
Is it performance-enhancing?
There is evidence emerging that large doses of terbutaline in inhaled form may improve sprint and power performance, but there is no strong evidence to suggest they would improve endurance performance. From a performance-enhancement point of view, these drugs don’t improve lung function. They are called beta-2 agonists because they act directly on beta-2 adrenoreceptors in the muscle, which improves the strength and power produced in each muscle contraction. It works in a similar way to adrenaline. Essentially you’re getting better adaptations in sprinting and power performance. From an endurance point of view for a cyclist, there are not many gains to be had.
What is the prevalence of asthma among elite sportspeople?
In terms of the research we have done, around 21 per cent of the British Olympic team were using an inhaler. It’s higher in sports with a high aerobic element such as cycling and swimming. Some reports suggest that around 40 per cent of British Olympic cyclists use an inhaler, and it’s similar in other sports that have a high ventilatory requirement.
Why such a high proportion?
Athletes are more susceptible to asthma than the general population. The reason is that when you’re exercising you’re breathing in larger volumes of air, which, if you are susceptible, increases the dose of potential triggers for an asthma response. In cycling, you increase the amount of dry air going into your airway; and out on the road there is air pollution as well. Therefore you are more likely to trigger an inflammatory response, which is likely to cause asthma symptoms. Athletes increase their exposure, so they increase the chances of developing the condition.
