Erythropoietin doping as cause of sudden death in athletes: an experimental study

• Author(s): Piloto, N. ; Teixeira, H.M. ; Teixeira-Lemos, E. ; Parada, B. ; Garrido, P. ; Sereno, J. ; F. Pinto, A.F. ; Costa, Elísio ; Belo, L. ; Santos-Silva, A. ; Pinto, R. ; Couceiro, P. ; Neto, P. ; Xavier, F. ; Carvalho, L. ; Teixeira, F. ; Reis, F.
• Date: 2010
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/4632
• Origin: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
• Subject(s): rhEPO; Doping; Chronic aerobic exercise; Sudden Death
• Document Type: Conference Object
• Language: English

Description

Aims: To evaluate the cardiovascular (CV) effects of rhEPO treatment in rats under chronic aerobic exercise and to assess the probable cause of sudden death in one rat. Protocol: Male Wistar rats: control - sedentary; rhEPO - 50 IU/Kg/3xwk; swimming (EX) -1 hr, 3x/wk; EX+EPO. Hematology, catecholamines and serotonin, redox status and inflammation, were assessed. One rat of EX+EPO group suffered a sudden death episode. Results: rhEPO treatment in trained rats promoted several markers of increased CV risk. The sudden death rat tissues presented: lungs without signs of drowning; brain with vascular congestion; LV hypertrpphy and deregulations of cardiac fibers, together with a "cardiac liver", suggesting the hypothesis of heart failure as cause of death. Conclusion: The sudden death of a EX+EPO rat, due to a cardiac episode, together with the increased CV risk profile, strongly suggest a high life risk associated to the continuous rhEPO doping. The anatomo-pathological studies were determinant to establish the cause of death.