Researchers cite progress on HGH
The man described as the āguru of sports dopingā and an East Coast cancer detection expert said theyāre on the way to establishing a urine test for human growth hormone that could close a drug-testing loophole experts described Monday as a āwidespreadā problem in sports.
Don Catlin, a Los Angeles-based worldwide doping expert who oversaw blood testing for HGH at the Beijing Olympics, and Dr. Lance Liotta, a former pathology lab chief at the National Cancer Instituteās Center for Cancer Research, have launched a study to build upon Liottaās ability to identify isolated markers of HGH in urine.
āThis is a groundbreaking step thatāll change the game a bit,ā Catlin said Monday at a first-ever Growth Hormone Summit staged at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Although baseballās union has maintained resistance to submitting players to HGH blood tests, the breakthrough has excited anti-doping and baseball officials who attended Mondayās meeting.
Catlinās anti-doping research is entering the third year of work on a three-year, $450,000 grant by Major League Baseball to establish whether an HGH urine test is possible. He received identical funding from the NFL playersā union.
Baseball officials who werenāt allowed to discuss the situation publicly told The Times the Catlin-Liotta partnership now is poised to be āat the front of the lineā when the Partnership for Clean Competition -- consisting of MLB, NFL and the U.S. Olympic Committee -- begins to distribute funds from a pool of $10 million later this year.
Liotta, a professor at George Mason University, said he has arranged a study of students there that will analyze their natural HGH levels in blood and urine. The study will seek to establish a baseline standard that can be compared for instances when an abundance of synthetic HGH, prescribed mostly for AIDS patients and individuals with dwarfism, is found in the system.
Cautioning that such research is conducted āin fits and starts,ā UCLA professor Gary Green, the summit director who serves as MLBās consultant on performance-enhancing drugs, said a realistic timeline for HGH urine testing would be the 2012 Summer Games in London.
The clock will tick amid abuses, summit attendees warned.
āGrowth hormone promotes muscle mass and reduces fat mass . . . and is widely used by athletes,ā Dr. Richard I.G. Holt of Englandās University of Southampton said.
World Anti-Doping Agency senior manager Osquel Barroso said that in light of the current situation, when synthetic HGH leaves the system in 36 hours or less, WADA will advise its worldwide Olympic partners to conduct increased out-of-competition testing.
Summit expert Dr. Thomas Perls, a Boston University associate professor of medicine who has worked with the Drug Enforcement Agency and Department of Justice, said the use of HGH for anti-aging purposes and athletic enhancement by a reported 200,000 in this country has emerged as āa big public health threat.ā He described the public distribution of HGH as āa mafia-like drug-trafficking ring,ā and said itās āsetting [users] up for cardiovascular disasters.ā
But Gene Orza, the baseball unionās chief operating officer, repeated that players arenāt prepared to join the Olympians who submitted to blood tests.
āNo one should have complete faith in a test that has not produced a positive result in 8,500 tests,ā Orza said at the summit. āIf there is a scientifically valid test for HGH, the players will get together and decide how they want to respond. My suspicion is they will adopt it. But they wonāt be pushed into accepting something as scientifically valid before it is.ā
Catlin admitted that although International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said last week that he expected more positive doping results to emerge in re-testing of samples provided by Beijing athletes, he does not expect an HGH positive to occur.
Green had earlier reinforced to attendees that a positive drug test isnāt confirmed until it clears arbitration.
Southland attorney Howard Jacobs, who defended cyclist Floyd Landis in his doping case after Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title, said the summit raised āa lot of questionsā that he would likely explore if he ever represents an HGH-positive client. āThey havenāt validated any positive athlete samples,ā Jacobs said. āYou have to wonder how many studies theyāve conducted, plus thereās collection and transport issues.ā
Yet, Catlin described Liottaās work as the most significant breakthrough for HGH urine testing.
āThis is fairly straightforward, analytical chemistry,ā Liotta said. āIf we can reliably measure the HGH, weāre on our way.ā
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