[Oxygen blood transport and doping]

Abstract

Maximal oxygen uptake is one of the major performance limiting factor in endurance sports. Sophisticated training methods have been developed to increase this variable. On the other hand, attempts have been made to improve maximal oxygen uptake by artificial means: blood doping, administration of human recombinant erythropoietin and, probably, by the use of a new class of therapeutic agents: the oxygen carriers. All these substances and methods are prohibited by the International Olympic Committee. But, until now, the detection of the misuse of these compounds is a problem: there is no detection method for blood doping, no screening method for oxygen carriers and the current test method for rhu-Epo lacks sensitivity if a urine sample is collected more than 3-4 days after the last injection of the protein. An indirect method for detecting rhu-Epo could be an alternative solution. Our researches in this field highlight the difficulties to detect doping from biological parameters.