What is EPO? Lance Armstrong Blood Doping Case

Sports | najia | January 18, 2013 at 4:23 pm

What is EPO? Lance Armstrong Blood Doping Case: Lance Armstrong recently came out about his use of performance enhancing drugs during an exclusive interview with Oprah. New details tell us that he admitted to using a drug named EPO – many people are curious, what is EPO?

EPO blood doping is a process where a drug named Erythropoietin is injected into the blood system. This drug increases red blood cell production, causing the supply of oxygen in the body to drastically amplify. This enhances a person’s capacity to perform. This drug is commonly given to patients suffering from anemia, which is most likely developed after severe conditions like cancer or chronic kidney failure.

The question that arose was: maybe Lance Armstrong was given the dosages of EPO during the time he was recovering from cancer? This worry is however invalid now, since Armstrong has admitted his blood doping crime.

The disgraced former cyclist admitted in his interview with Oprah that he took many performance enhancing drugs – that too during all seven of the Tour De France Championships he won. He said that the drugs for enhancing his performance as an athlete included EPO, testosterone injections and even blood transfusions.

Scientists have revealed that EPO also has positive impacts on the brain like stimulation of motivation and optimism. Therefore the drug is also used in prescribed quantities to cure depression.

EPO is a hormone naturally produced by the kidneys and liver in the human body. It can also be created in the lab using cell culture mechanisms. EPO causes the red blood cell production to increase drastically.

Other artificial mechanisms to boost athletic performance include anabolic steroids, hGH (Human Growth Hormone), and diuretics.

In the past, Lance Armstrong had been denying the accusation regarding blood doping and performance enhancement drugs – it was only recently that he came out in the open about the issue. Armstrong has been stripped off all seven of his Tour De France titles.