Is genetic engineering next doping threat? Experts worry
that biotechnology could infiltrate sports
LONDON - Back in the depths of time, athletes used ginseng,
opium and steroids from sheep testicles to enhance their
performance. Anabolic steroids made their debut in sports in
the 1940s and 50s, and chemical agents followed.
Now the big fear is that advances in biotechnology and gene
therapy could result in genetically modified athletes with
the bodies of Greek gods and the prowess of Superman
overwhelming ordinary mortals at future Olympics.
Gene therapy, to treat or prevent disease, has not developed
with the speed scientists had initially hoped but it is
moving forward and it could be just a matter of time before
it infiltrates sports.
"If the science develops and the regulatory and ethical
frameworks are not properly established, I think there
is a danger. We've seen it with the use of drugs that
were developed for therapeutic purposes," said [censored]
Pound, president of the Montreal-based World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA).
'It's a realistic problem which we may have to face, but
not today.'
- DR. BENGT SALTIN
Director of the Center for Muscle Research at Copenhagen
University"The science could probably be misapplied."
Genetic doping is unlikely to be an issue at the Athens
Olympics in August or the Turin Winter Games in 2006, but it
could be a problem come Beijing in 2008.
"It's a realistic problem which we may have to face, but not
today," said Dr. Bengt Saltin, director of the Center for
Muscle Research at Copenhagen University and a member of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) science committee.
"The Beijing Olympics would be the earliest possible
occasion."
Doping scandal
Researchers have identified the gene for erythropoietin,
or EPO, which stimulates the production of red blood
cells --important for endurance sports such as the
marathon and cycling.
Synthetic EPO, which is used to treat anemia and is banned
by the IOC, was at the center of a doping scandal that
rocked the Tour de France cycling classic in 1998.
Scientists have already injected bits of the EPO gene,
using a weakened virus, into the leg muscles of monkeys
in research that may one day help kidney patients
awaiting an organ transplant to maintain a steady supply
of red blood cells.
"There were quite positive results but they can't control it
enough," Saltin said, referring to the research.
"When they find the control of the gene then they will
definitely use it on kidney patients and I don't think the
road to the sporting world is very far."
One of the chief doping problems for sports is anabolic
steroids. Androstenedione, nandrolone and stanozolol bulk
up muscle mass and increase strength. "In so many sports
the muscle mass and the strength is the critical factor,"
said Saltin.
Steroids are nonspecific and as researchers learn more about
local growth factors, improving individual muscles with
injections or genetic modification could become a
possibility. "There is very good research in the field
because there are muscular dystrophy patients with selective
loss of muscles. If you could find how to counteract that
with these local factors it will help many patients around
the world," Saltin said.
Gene transfer
Dr. Lee Sweeney of the University of Pennsylvania and his
team have already coaxed muscles in mice to grow up to
30 percent stronger. They injected mice with a growth
gene known as insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I).
"The prospects are high that muscle-directed gene transfer
will be used for performance enhancement," Sweeney told a
science conference where he presented the research. At the
moment, scientists believe genetic engineering is too
dangerous and too little is known about the technology and
its impact to pose an immediate problem. However, they
believe it could be just a matter of time before it
reaches sports.
In the meantime, WADA plans to keep up with advances in
the technology and the with people likely to bend or break
the rules.
"In the case of drugs, I think the genie was allowed to get
out of the bottle early on, before people realized what the
full implications would be and before the science got
developed to the point where you could detect these sort of
things," said Pound.
"In genetics, our objective is to try and be there as the
policy framework is developed, to be part of that process."
Saltin believes doping controls have never been as good and
this trend will continue. "We have seen through the years
that there are always people willing to use their knowledge,
experience and technology to improve the athlete's
performance. If those people were not around the problem
would be so much easier to handle," he said.
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A professor asked a student, "If you had a choice between
the oppressed and the oppressor which would you choose." The
student replied, "Neither". The Professor shook his head and
stated, "You don't have a choice." The student paused and
said, "The oppressed".