Doping and the Olympics: A Breakdown of Meldonium – the Banned Substance Often Found in Barred Athletes (Including Russians Banned From the Rio Olympics), Long-Time Pharmacology Research Expert
Tufts University
The risk of sports fans catching dengue fever during the Rio Olympics is very low, according to a new study involving mathematicians at the University of Strathclyde.
The list of substances that can mean the difference between winning and not winning is long, and includes everything from testosterone and anabolic steroids to red-cell boosters. But their effect on the body can be detrimental -- and even deadly.
With Zika sparking anxiety at the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil, and now being transmitted in Florida through contact with mosquitoes, accurately mapping the distribution of the virus is increasingly urgent.
Olympics officials already contending with the illegal use of steroids among athletes are now being proactive about a potential new trend in performance enhancement: gene doping. Although tests for this type of cheating won't be performed until after the Games, the results could still mean bad news for implicated athletes. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explores how experts are planning to catch cheating athletes.
Back to school means back to sports – and the risk of injury that comes with them. “Being aware of the injury potential of your sport and proactively seeking ways to prevent such injuries is critical,” says Dr. Jennifer Beck, a pediatric sports medicine physician at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica.
The numbers are staggering – 36 competition and 20 training venues, six hotels, five media villages, one hospital, 306 events, 10,903 athletes, 3,200 referees and assistants, 45,000 volunteers, 25,100 accredited media, 7,000 National Olympic Committee delegates, 5,000 clinicians, 1,000 doctors…and one man responsible for it all.
Anti-Doping Stance Sets Gold Standard for Athlete Health and Fair Competition
Scientists have shown that people who exercise for even a few hours each week can enlarge their hearts. This is a normal and beneficial response to exercise, but until now has only been recognised in athletes. The researchers say that doctors should now consider an individual’s activity level before diagnosing common heart conditions.
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Zika isn’t the only health concern now that the games have begun in Rio. Massive crowds from around the globe will be at the Olympics, and that means a world-class array of germs will mix with them. Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert Gregory Poland, M.D., offers several tips for avoiding illness when you are around lots of people, whether at the Olympics, a professional sports event, convention, concert or other major event.
Montmorency tart cherry juice may be a promising new recovery aid for soccer players following a game or intense practice. A new study published in Nutrients found Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate aided recovery among eight semi-professional male soccer players following a test that simulated the physical and metabolic demands of a soccer game.
As the world awaits the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics, doping in athletes remains a hot topic. Christopher Mendias, Ph.D., A.T.C., explains why the World Anti-Doping Agency regulates certain substances, how that’s changing and how some of these drugs may help rehabilitate injuries in everyday and elite athletes alike.
Footballers’ injuries may be predicted by looking at players’ workloads during training and competition, according to new research.
Mayo Clinic Experts Available for Concussion Discussion As thousands of student athletes across the country prepare for the fall sport season, thousands of parents are concerned about concussions. Up to 4 million sports-related concussions occur in the U.S. each year. And that number may even be higher because many more concussions are not actually diagnosed correctly. Even with all the recent attention on concussions, how much do people really know about how to spot a concussion, what to do about it and how they are treated? Mayo Clinic experts are available to clear up the myths and emphasize the importance of baseline testing during sports physicals.
Sky Blue FC soccer players, Coco Goodson, Rachel Breton, Shawna Gordon, and Theresa Diedrich visited K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center on Wednesday, to spend the afternoon with patients.
Earlier this week, members of the Lakewood BlueClaws visited with the littlest patients at K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and handed out autographed baseballs.
Ahead of the Summer Olympic Games in London four years ago, researchers reported that physical inactivity was a global pandemic that required urgent action. With the 2016 Games looming, University of California San Diego School of Medicine investigators report little change in activity levels worldwide.
Organizations join forces to promote walking, improve health
UCLA Health Experts are available to discuss a wide variety of topics of interest for the month of August.
With an estimated 500,000 visitors and 15,000 athletes due to visit Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics, there has been a lot of talk about the danger the Zika virus poses to public health.
On July 11, Peter Cancro, founder and CEO of Jersey Mike’s Subs, chaired Jersey Shore University Medical Center Foundation’s 33rd annual Sports Classic Golf Tournament at the Deal Golf and Country Club and Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, NJ. The sold-out event hosted 260 golfers, and raised a record-breaking $340,000 in support of cardiovascular programs and other areas of greatest need at Jersey Shore, part of the Hackensack Meridian Health family. Bob Mullen, chief executive office of Structure Tone and J. Scott Ferguson, vice president of Carrickmore, served as co-chairs.
With the Olympic Torch Run on day 80 of 95 on its way to Rio, this summer’s Olympic Games have already shaped up to be an incredibly dramatic event with political overthrows, violence in the city’s favelas, fears about rio’s water quality and the ever present threat of the Zika virus, all of which have somewhat overshadowed enthusiasm for the games themselves and have left some calling to have the games cancelled.
In football, player-vs.-player hits will likely cause more severe head impacts than other impacts, according to a new study by a University of Georgia researcher.
Latest Research Highlights from ACSM
Physical Activity, Fitness, Cognitive Function and Academic Achievement in Children: A Systematic Review
Check with ACSM for Expert Sources During Rio Games
A study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute reveals the role of the gene Mkx in maintaining and strengthening tendons in animal models; the gene also appears to prevent a debilitating tendon condition called “ossification.”
A lively look at a quirky but important and growing field of research.
A study by researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine found that on average offensive linemen from a Division III college football conference weighed 38 percent more in 2014 than they did in 1956, while the average male’s weight over the same time increased only 12 percent.
Sustaining a concussion during adolescence may be more common than previous estimates, according to researchers presenting their study at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO today.
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon & ½ Marathon is pleased to announce its “Patient Champions” who will represent 24 of the 26 miles on this year’s course.
For athletes and highly active patients who sustain cartilage injuries to their knee, an osteochondral allograft transplantation can be a successful treatment option, according to research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO. The study showed these patients were consistently able to return to sport or recreational activities after the surgery, though frequently at a lower activity level.
Getting back into the game is important for any athlete after a significant injury but shoulder injuries can be tricky, especially for football players. Researchers presenting their work today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO, note that surgical treatment for shoulder instability in collegiate athletes is often the best medicine for returning to play, especially in those who performed at high levels previously.
As artificial turf systems are increasingly used at all levels, new research is needed to understand how these surfaces can impact athlete safety. A study presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO, shows how the infill weight of artificial turf surfaces can directly affect the number of injuries to high school football players.
Creating a program to prevent hamstring injuries in minor league and major league baseball players might be a possibility say researchers presenting their work today at the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO.
Using a wearable neuromuscular device can reduce the risk of ACL injury in female soccer athletes, according to new research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO. The study showed functional improvements in athletes who used the devices in combination with a regular training program.
New research finds white matter changes in the brains of athletes six months after a concussion. The study will be presented at the Sports Concussion Conference in Chicago, July 8-10, hosted by the American Academy of Neurology, the world’s leading authority on the diagnosis and management of sports-related concussion. The conference brings together leading experts in the field to present and discuss the latest scientific advances in diagnosing and treating sports-related concussion.
Experts from the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Available for Interviews
Shoulder instability is most common in the young, athletic population, bringing a focus to how these injuries are best treated. Research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO, demonstrated that surgery after a first-time shoulder dislocation lowered the re-injury risks and need for follow-up surgery when compared to those who were initially treated non-operatively and experienced a repeat dislocation prior to surgery.