drugs

• Performance enhancing drugs


  Drugs used by athletes to improve their performance
• Types of performance enhancing drugs

  • Anabolic Agents
  • Beta Blockers
  • Diuretics
  • Narcotic Analgesics
  • Peptide Hormones
  • Stimulants
  • Blood Doping
• Anabolic Agents


  • Allows performers to train longer and harder, increases protein synthesis helping develop lean muscle mass and speeds up recovery time
• Beta Blockers


  • Improve fine motor control by slowing heart rate and reducing anxiety which allow the performer to remain calm and controlled
• Diuretics


  • Achieve quick weight loss (fluids), also mask other drugs making them harder to detect
• Narcotic Analgesics


  • Increase the performers pain threshold so can mask injuries, also give a feeling of invincibility
• Peptide Hormones


  • EPO can increase red blood cell production increasing O₂ delivery
  • HGH helps muscle mass and burns fat
• Stimulants


  • Increase alertness, reduce tiredness and increase heart rate (therefore oxygen delivery)
• Blood Doping


  • Involves the removal of blood a few weeks prior to competition, the blood is frozen and re-injected just before competition (increase red blood cells)
• Beta blockers


  Block the effects of adrenaline, lowering heart rate and anxiety
• Beta blockers


  • Reduce muscle tremors and shaking
  • Increase focus
  • Advantageous in precision sports such as snooker, archery and shooting
• Possible side effects of beta blockers: dangerously low heart rate, low blood pressure, dizziness, nausea, diarrhoea, insomnia, sleep disturbances and tiredness
• Stimulants


  • Increase brain activity and enhance mental and physical alertness
  • Reduce fatigue and speed up reaction times
• Stimulants


  • Advantageous in sports in which aggression is beneficial, such as boxing and rugby, and endurance events in which it can be difficult to stay focused for a long time, such as long-distance cycling
• Possible side effects of stimulants: insomnia, irritability, anxiety, irregular heart rate, dehydration, high blood pressure and addiction
• Anabolic steroids


  Mimic the effects of the male sex hormone testosterone, which promotes muscle growth
• Anabolic steroids


  • Allow performers to train harder for longer, which improves strength
  • Speed up recovery time
  • Advantageous in sports that require strength and power such as sprinting and weightlifting
• Possible side effects of anabolic steroids: aggression and mood swings, acne, high blood pressure, liver damage, heart and circulatory problems, infertility and death
• Erythropoietin (EPO)


  Increases production of red blood cells and the delivery of oxygen to working muscles
• Erythropoietin (EPO)


  • Advantageous in sports that require endurance such as long-distance running or cycling
• Possible side effects of EPO: thickened blood, stroke, heart attack, blood clots and seizures
• Human Growth Hormone (HGH)


  Increases muscle mass and improves strength
• Human Growth Hormone (HGH)


  • Advantageous in sports that require strength and power such as sprinting
• Possible side effects of HGH: arthritis, heart failure, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes
• Blood doping


  Increasing the number of red blood cells in the blood stream to boost its oxygen-carrying capacity and improve performance
• Possible side effects of blood doping: kidney failure, thickened blood and heart attack
• Performance-enhancing drugs can produce physical or psychological effects that improve performance. However, misuse of these drugs can pose significant health risks, and taking them is regarded as cheating.