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IGF-I abuse in sport

IGF-I abuse in sport
IGF-I abuse in sport
It is widely believed that growth hormone (GH) is abused by athletes for its anabolic and lipolytic effects. Many of the physiological effects of GH are mediated by the production of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). Both GH and IGF-I appear on the World Anti-Doping Agency list of prohibited substances. Little is known, however, about the prevalence of abuse with exogenous IGF-I. IGF-I has effects on carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism and some of these actions could prove beneficial to competitive athletes. No studies have demonstrated a positive effect of IGF-I on physical performance in healthy individuals but this has not yet been studied in appropriately designed trials. Two pharmaceutical preparations of IGF-I have recently become available for the treatment of growth disorders in children. This availability is likely to increase the prevalence of IGF-I abuse. Combining IGF-I with its binding protein IGFBP-3 in one preparation has the potential to reduce the side-effect profile but the adverse effects of long term IGF-I abuse are currently unknown. Detection of abuse with IGF-I is a major challenge for anti-doping authorities. It is extremely difficult to distinguish the exogenous recombinant form of the hormone from endogenously-produced IGF-I. One approach currently being investigated is based on measuring markers of GH and IGF-I action. This has already proved successful in the fight against GH abuse and, it is hoped, will subsequently lead to a similar test for detection of IGF-I abuse.

1874-4737
263-272
Guha, Nishan
38212040-a65e-4874-a60a-21f0ae3bdf09
Dashwood, Alexander
9e4f0858-421f-4756-b07c-9f1b4cedf11f
Thomas, Nicholas
bfe39cd3-60b9-4733-8921-db53f7851e4c
Skingle, A.
b6165e67-355a-498a-9ca7-7461bec766ed
Sonksen, Peter H.
b3cf05ef-65c2-4e9b-8d95-b7c3aaf532cd
Holt, R.I.G.
d54202e1-fcf6-4a17-a320-9f32d7024393
Guha, Nishan
38212040-a65e-4874-a60a-21f0ae3bdf09
Dashwood, Alexander
9e4f0858-421f-4756-b07c-9f1b4cedf11f
Thomas, Nicholas
bfe39cd3-60b9-4733-8921-db53f7851e4c
Skingle, A.
b6165e67-355a-498a-9ca7-7461bec766ed
Sonksen, Peter H.
b3cf05ef-65c2-4e9b-8d95-b7c3aaf532cd
Holt, R.I.G.
d54202e1-fcf6-4a17-a320-9f32d7024393

Guha, Nishan, Dashwood, Alexander, Thomas, Nicholas, Skingle, A., Sonksen, Peter H. and Holt, R.I.G. (2009) IGF-I abuse in sport. Current Drug Abuse Reviews, 2 (3), 263-272.

Record type: Article

Abstract

It is widely believed that growth hormone (GH) is abused by athletes for its anabolic and lipolytic effects. Many of the physiological effects of GH are mediated by the production of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). Both GH and IGF-I appear on the World Anti-Doping Agency list of prohibited substances. Little is known, however, about the prevalence of abuse with exogenous IGF-I. IGF-I has effects on carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism and some of these actions could prove beneficial to competitive athletes. No studies have demonstrated a positive effect of IGF-I on physical performance in healthy individuals but this has not yet been studied in appropriately designed trials. Two pharmaceutical preparations of IGF-I have recently become available for the treatment of growth disorders in children. This availability is likely to increase the prevalence of IGF-I abuse. Combining IGF-I with its binding protein IGFBP-3 in one preparation has the potential to reduce the side-effect profile but the adverse effects of long term IGF-I abuse are currently unknown. Detection of abuse with IGF-I is a major challenge for anti-doping authorities. It is extremely difficult to distinguish the exogenous recombinant form of the hormone from endogenously-produced IGF-I. One approach currently being investigated is based on measuring markers of GH and IGF-I action. This has already proved successful in the fight against GH abuse and, it is hoped, will subsequently lead to a similar test for detection of IGF-I abuse.

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More information

Published date: September 2009

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 157585
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/157585
ISSN: 1874-4737
PURE UUID: 5862bba6-288e-4077-93b8-9dfde6c6f1cf
ORCID for R.I.G. Holt: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8911-6744

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Date deposited: 09 Jun 2010 08:28
Last modified: 09 Jan 2022 03:05

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Contributors

Author: Nishan Guha
Author: Alexander Dashwood
Author: Nicholas Thomas
Author: A. Skingle
Author: Peter H. Sonksen
Author: R.I.G. Holt ORCID iD

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