I have just published an analysis of the scientific literature on the effectiveness of the banned stimulant pseudoephedrine in sport [1]. The full paper is free to read and can be accessed via this link: rdcu.be/8EtB . Like most research it was a team effort. The original research was undertaken by two talented ex-undergraduate students of mine - Maria Gheorghiev and Farzad Hosseini - as part of their University of Essex degree. An Essex PhD student Jason Moran (now at Hartbury University) re-analysed and re-interpreted the data, adding greatly to the final outcome.
Being a scientific paper, I was forced to write in a somewhat formal style and rein in some of my more florid expressions. However, hopefully it should still make interesting reading for the intelligent layperson.
The key points from my paper were
· Pseudoephedrine use increases heart rate during exercise, but there is no significant effect on time trial performance, perceived effort, or biochemical markers (blood glucose and blood lactate).
· A small performance benefit could not be completely ruled out, especially in the younger and well-trained athletes of most concern to anti-doping agencies,
· However, any performance benefit of pseudoephedrine is marginal and certainly less than that obtained through permitted stimulants such as caffeine
For those of you who are unfamiliar with pseudoephedrine it is the safest and most effective nasal decongestant available. It clears up the symptoms of blocked nose and sinuses during colds and flu, although it has no effect on the overall progress of the disease. Although available in most countries over the counter, its use is restricted, primarily over concerns that it is used as a precursor in the production of the recreational drug “crystal meth”. For those of you familiar with the TV show “Breaking Bad”, it is the “pseudo” that the characters use to make meth in their RV, before switching to more productive precursors when they move to industrial level production.
In sport, as outlined in my article, the regulation of pseudoephedrine has a chequered history. It has been banned, unbanned and then banned again. As I say in my book, the most tragic case was that of the sixteen-year-old Rumanian gymnast Andreaa Răducan. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics the Rumanian women’s gymnastics team obtained a clean sweep of medals in the overall event. Răducan took the gold. However, she subsequently tested positive for pseudoephedrine; her gold medal was withdrawn. The drugs test was as a result of a cold that had struck many members of the Rumanian team. The team doctor had prescribed the painkiller Nurofen, which in its form as a cold medication contains pseudoephedrine. The minimum level of pseudoephedrine allowed in a urine drugs test is not corrected for body mass. Răducan, being the lightest gymnast, registered over the limit; her teammate Simona Amanar, who finished second, also tested positive for pseudoephedrine, but was below the banned level. Amanar was consequently awarded the gold medal – but she then boycotted the medal ceremony claiming that Răducan was the true champion.
Given what we know was going on at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics games, it is rather ironic that the most high profile positive test actually reported at the Games was not for anabolic steroids or blood doping, but a humble nasal decongestant. The Swedish ice hockey team were deprived of the use of the star player Nicklas Backstrom, just before the gold medal ice hockey game. Shorn of their star player, Sweden were convincingly beaten by Canada 3-0. Backstrom had tested positive for pseudoephedrine. He was taking (and declared on his doping control form) Zyrtec-D, a pill that contains both an anti histamine and pseudoephedrine. It seems that he had been taking it every day for seven years. WADA does have a lower limit of pseudoephedrine that does not result in a ban. When tested, Backstrom’s pill put him just over this limit. There are a issues about the timing of the Backstrom ban (just before the ice hockey final) that have caused a lot of upset in Sweden. The controversy did not end after the Games. Originally not awarded a silver medal, the IOC reinstated him and awarded his medal in March 2014. WADA then appealed this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in November 2014. Finally in January 2015, the dispute was settled and Backstromended with a reprimand, but was allowed to retain his medal.
I know WADA have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment (to put it mildly!). But it does seem to me that the WADA banned list could do with some significant pruning to remove these drugs and medicines such as pseuodoephedrine that - even if they are potentially performance enhancing - are clearly not “game changing” compared to current, legitimate supplements and methods that athletes are allowed to make use of. The asthma medication Salbutamol, as used by Chris Froome in the Vuelta a Espana - could probably also fall into this category. But that is a subject for my next blog.
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