EPO, Riders, & The Future

[slovakguy]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/armstrongs-fraud-paralleled-epo-makers-feud

first, i'm not shocked at the marketing tactics these pharmo companies used in gaining market share. to be so, i'd have to channel inspector renault from casablance when he discovered gambling in rick's cafe americain. what i do find shocking are the revelations about this drug's effects. pulling one thought from the article is that one where later studies showed that the drug helped grow cancer cells. this has to be some very scary news for those who pumped this stuff into their bodies for years in order to race in the peloton.

 

[jhuskey]

Beyond the use of PEDS millions take drugs everyday just for the hell of it to get numb or high. It's not just athletes, society is on a downhill slide.
The future in general looks rocky at least in the area where I reside.

 

[slovakguy]

not to dispute that, but there have to be some scared folks out there who shot that **** into their veins right now. not to minimise what heroin addicts do to themselves, but can you imagine the sense of dread hanging over some of these epo doping folks at career's end wondering what the future holds for them?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

God bless Lazy Fair Capitalism!

 

[alienator]

Beyond the use of PEDS millions take drugs everyday just for the hell of it to get numb or high. It's not just athletes, society is on a downhill slide. The future in general looks rocky at least in the area where I reside. 

I don't think that society is on a downhill slide, but rather we here so much more these days. With nearly instant communication of news from all parts of the world, we're just made much more aware of all of humanity's manky behavior. Drug companies have exhibited scummy behavior for a long time

 

[alienator]

not to dispute that, but there have to be some scared folks out there who shot that **** into their veins right now.  not to minimise what heroin addicts do to themselves, but can you imagine the sense of dread hanging over some of these epo doping folks at career's end wondering what the future holds for them?

It's a sad irony in that EPO can increase the risk of cancer, but it's not an unheard of thing. It's certainly not always the malfeasance of a pharma company that leads to unfortunate side effects for some drugs. One example is a drug called Prograf. It's an immuno suppressant, one of the two most commonly used immuno suppressants. The big unfortunate side effect of Prograf is that it can be very damaging to a patient's kidneys, a sad irony for kidney transplant patients, or any transplant patients. Even more said is the ongoing push--by patients and by docs--to try to get the FDA to approve drugs for use in patients in a much shorter time frame than is normal for evaluating drugs for approval. Couple that with patent laws that keep generic meds off the street for a long time (thus maximizing the original manufacturer's) and keep prices high and the sad lack of regulation of the pharma market, and you quickly realize that it's the drug makers that aren't getting screwed.

 

[jhuskey]

It is an observation I have made personally in how many people I have encounter that are on pain killers. They are just too easy to obtain and I believ that has led to increased use.

 

[jpwkeeper]

So let me get this straight.

A company that manufacturers and sells EPO sponsors the Tour of California bike race?

Wow....just Wow.

 

[slovakguy]

Originally Posted by alienator .


It's a sad irony in that EPO can increase the risk of cancer, but it's not an unheard of thing. It's certainly not always the malfeasance of a pharma company that leads to unfortunate side effects for some drugs. One example is a drug called Prograf. It's an immuno suppressant, one of the two most commonly used immuno suppressants. The big unfortunate side effect of Prograf is that it can be very damaging to a patient's kidneys, a sad irony for kidney transplant patients, or any transplant patients.
Even more said is the ongoing push--by patients and by docs--to try to get the FDA to approve drugs for use in patients in a much shorter time frame than is normal for evaluating drugs for approval. Couple that with patent laws that keep generic meds off the street for a long time (thus maximizing the original manufacturer's) and keep prices high and the sad lack of regulation of the pharma market, and you quickly realize that it's the drug makers that aren't getting screwed.

valid points. i'm left wondering if that practise of increasing dosages resulted in the higher incidence of cancer.

to jpwkeeper: the character to focus on amgen's interest in cycling is most likely thom weisel, cited in the article as financier in amgen and the usps team.

 

[alienator]

So let me get this straight. A company that manufacturers and sells EPO sponsors the Tour of California bike race? Wow....just Wow.

I don't see a problem with it. EPO is a godsend for people with anemia as a result of certain disease processes. The benefits of such therapeutic use should not be overshadowed by people administering or using EPO as a doping agent. Moreover, the companies that make EPO also make many other medications that benefit a great number of people.

 

[alienator]

valid points.  i'm left wondering if that practise of increasing dosages resulted in the higher incidence of cancer.

That wondering is one reason why I'm not really hip to seeing drugs rushed to market without stringent testing.

 

[limerickman]

Originally Posted by slovakguy .

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/armstrongs-fraud-paralleled-epo-makers-feud

first, i'm not shocked at the marketing tactics these pharmo companies used in gaining market share. to be so, i'd have to channel inspector renault from casablance when he discovered gambling in rick's cafe americain. what i do find shocking are the revelations about this drug's effects. pulling one thought from the article is that one where later studies showed that the drug helped grow cancer cells. this has to be some very scary news for those who pumped this stuff into their bodies for years in order to race in the peloton.

I think the long terms effects on the health of riders who used EPO will make for very interesting reading.

I say that in the hope that riders who did use the product live long and healthy lives.
I suspect unfortunately that some of them will develop problems in later life that will be attributable to having taken substances.

I come from the Percy Cerutty (Goggle him if you don't know what I'm talking about) mindset of "Stotan" which combines the Spartan and Stoic philosophy to training and to life generally.
"You can mend thyself"

 

[slovakguy]

i have to say that this report seems a bit dodgy concerning epo not having an impact on performance.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/12/06/epo-doping-cycling.html

 

[alienator]

i have to say that this report seems a bit dodgy concerning epo not having an impact on performance. http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/12/06/epo-doping-cycling.html

The paper in the article is just a survey of published research on the effects, benefits, and etc. of EPO. Such surveys need to be viewed with skepticism (scientific skepticism) because they actually do not provide a scientific result to support their hypothesis. I think at best such surveys point out where more research is needed. They are not scientific refutations of hypotheses or theories. They do make great fodder for news organizations, and let's face it: it's a comparatively rare event when news media accurately report scientific findings or appropriately convey the meaning of reports or papers such as the one mentioned here.