Dr. Mirken website and EPO article

[dekindy]

I referenced this website in another thread and now have had an opportunity to review some of the website and find it informative.
http://www.drmirkin.com/

Here's an article on EPO that is short and to the point.
http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/lance_armstrong.html

[zap]

Gabe and his wife ride tandem and are well known in the Washington, D.C tandem community.

[93legendti]

Lance Armstrong

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.


This month, some of the favorites to win the Tour de France endurance bicycle race were prevented from entering because of suspicion that they may have taken drugs or had blood transfusions to raise their red blood cell counts. That brings up the accusation that Lance Armstrong, possibly the most dominant endurance bicycle racer of all time, took blood boosting drugs when he won the first of his seven Tour De France victories.

The allegation is that Lance Armstrong’s urine, kept in storage for six years, had a positive test for EPO, a restricted drug that raises blood levels of oxygen-carrying and performance-enhancing hemoglobin. An article published in the prestigious medical journal, Blood (June 15, 2006) shows that after competing in any athletic event, any athlete could have a false positive urine test for EPO.

The test for EPO is done by injecting the protein, EPO, into animals so that their bodies produce special proteins called antibodies that attach to EPO. The antibodies are put on a special plate, and the test urine is added. If the urine contains EPO, a band consisting of the antibody tied to the EPO appears on the special plate.

Researchers at Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium showed that “this widely used test can occasionally lead to the false-positive detection of EPO in postexercise, protein-rich urine.” Any athlete can have a false positive test with this procedure. Most people with healthy kidneys do not spill protein in their urine, but after strenuous exercise, athletes with normal kidneys often spill protein into their urine. For example, more than 80 percent of runners spilled protein into their urines after running the Boston Marathon. The authors state that the antibodies that are used in the test can attach to any protein in the urine, not just EPO.

[Johny]

http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/full/108/5/1778-a

Another Blood paper questioned the validity of the 2006 Blood paper as cited by Dr. Mirkin:

(cut and pasted)
"It is disappointing that such poor-quality experiments and misinterpreted results led the authors to believe that the validity of the Epo antidoping test could be questioned."

[dekindy]

http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/full/108/5/1778-a

Another Blood paper questioned the validity of the 2006 Blood paper as cited by Dr. Mirkin:

(cut and pasted)
"It is disappointing that such poor-quality experiments and misinterpreted results led the authors to believe that the validity of the Epo antidoping test could be questioned."

So which one is right? This is science, isn't it? It had better be accurate or not used. Or do they not believe that "it is better for a guilty man to go free than for an innocent man to be found guilty"(don't have that quite right but you get the idea).

[93legendti]

Based upon John Holdren, these days "science" is whatever you want it to be. :rolleyes:

[dnades]

I think if you read the response to the criticism in the Blood report link they defend their position well. Anything that increases the incidents of false positives or misinterpretation of results in the career ending testing that goes on should be seriously examined.