Volume 2 • Issue 5 • 1000e126 J Sports Med Doping Stud ISSN: 2161-0673 JSMDS, an open access journal Sports Medicine & Doping Studies Kumar and Kumar, J Sports Med Doping Stud 2012, 2:5 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2161-0673.1000e126 Editorial Open Access Doping Sciences: A Reflection upon Performance in Sports Medicine Senthil P Kumar 1 * and Anup Kumar 2 1 Department of Physiotherapy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Mangalore, India 2 Department of Orthopaedics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Mangalore, India Abstract Doping science is a feld in itself, evolving through processes of practice, education, research and administration, not only in sports but also to medicine, exercise and physical activity in health and disease. The objective of this editorial is to provide introduction to Doping science as a feld, with necessities for future research and the role of JSMDS. *Corresponding author: Senthil P Kumar, Department of Physiotherapy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Mangalore, India, Tel: +919341963889; E-mail: senthil.kumar@manipal.edu Received September 16, 2012; Accepted September 16, 2012; Published September 19, 2012 Citation: Kumar SP, Kumar A (2012) Doping Sciences: A Refection upon Performance in Sports Medicine. J Sports Med Doping Stud 2:e126. doi:10.4172/2161-0673.1000e126 Copyright: © 2012 Kumar SP, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Keywords: Sports medicine; Exercise physiology; Doping science Te practice of blood doping in sports had been around for more than a century in its various novel forms the reason for which was not only that it enhances sports performance but also that it is difcult to detect [1]. Alfons Bukowski (1858-1921), a Polish pharmacist is commonly regarded as the pioneer of anti-doping research. In 1910, he developed the frst method to detect alkaloids in horse saliva [2]. Te fght against doping in sports commenced as a result of the death of a Danish cyclist during the Rome Olympic Games in 1960. Te International Olympic Committee (IOC) established a Medical Commission (IOC-MC) which had the task of designing a strategy to combat the misuse of drugs in Olympic Sport. Tus Medicine and Science has now joined hands in their fght against doping [3]. Afer the fght against the use of performance-enhancing drugs for 90 years, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was formed in the year 1999, and with the support of various governments and bodies, the World Anti-Doping Program which consisted of fve documents- the Code, the International Standard for Testing, the International Standard for Laboratories, the Prohibited List, and the International Standard for Terapeutic Use Exemptions [4]. Te substances studied in doping sciences include but not limited to creatine supplements [5], recombinant human ErythroPoietin (rhEPo) [1], Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF) stabilizers [6], genome-wide RNA expression using microarray platforms and transcriptomic approaches [7], testosterone and epitestosteroneusing liquid chromatographic method [8], silicon doping system at research reactors [9]. In recent years, antidoping strategies underwent a signifcant development, from purely biochemical analyses and the detection of substances in urine samples to a biological approach, using blood samples, longitudinal monitoring, and probabilistic techniques [10]. Advanced urine analysis techniques such as Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS-MS), isotope ratio mass spectrometry detection of exogenous testosterone use, and isoelectric focusing detection of recombinant ErythroPoietin (EPO) use were evolved to combat the socio-legal implications of doping [11]. Te science of doping and its preventive initiatives will necessitate further state-sponsored research, at a global magnitude, to address this exploding phenomenon in the feld of sports medicine [5]. Tus researchers focusing on anti-doping should conform to statistical standards derived from Forensic science [12]. Journal of Sports Medicine and Doping Sciences (JSMDS) welcomes all articles on doping and its evolution of scientifc information for evaluation, identifcation, measurement, interpretation, regulations and implications, both at a regional and at a global level. References 1. Lundby C, Robach P, Saltin B (2012) The evolving science of detection of ‘blood doping’. Br J Pharmacol 165: 1306-1315. 2. Pokrywka A, Gorczyca D, Jarek A, Kwiatkowska D (2010) In memory of Alfons Bukowski on the centenary of anti-doping research. Drug Test Anal 2: 538-541. 3. Catlin DH, Fitch KD, Ljungqvist A (2008) Medicine and science in the fght against doping in sport. J Intern Med 264: 99-114. 4. Bowers LD (2010) Science and the rules governing anti-doping violations. Handb Exp Pharmacol195: 513-531. 5. Kalinski MI (2003) State-sponsored research on creatine supplements and blood doping in elite Soviet sport. Perspect Biol Med 46: 445-451. 6. Beuck S, Bornatsch W, Lagojda A, Schänzer W, Thevis M (2011) Development of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based analytical assays for the determination of HIF stabilizers in preventive doping research. Drug Test Anal 3: 756-770. 7. Neuberger EW, Moser DA, Simon P (2011) Principle considerations for the use of transcriptomics in doping research. Drug Test Anal 3: 668-675. 8. Konieczna L, Plenis A, Olędzka I, Kowalski P, Bączek T (2011) Optimization of LC method for the determination of testosterone and epitestosterone in urine samples in view of biomedical studies and anti-doping research studies. Talanta 83: 804-814. 9. Li X, Gerstenberg H, Neuhaus I (2009) Silicon doping system at the research reactor FRM II. Appl Radiat Isot 67: 1220-1224. 10. Schumacher YO, Pottgiesser T (2009) Performance profling: a role for sport science in the fght against doping? Int J Sports Physiol Perform 4: 129-133. 11. Hatton CK (2007) Beyond sports-doping headlines: the science of laboratory tests for performance-enhancing drugs. Pediatr Clin North Am 54: 713-733. 12. Faber K, Sjerps M (2009) Anti-doping researchers should conform to certain statistical standards from forensic science. Sci Justice 49: 214-215.