Doping drugs last up to 10 years

A new study finds that athletes who use steroid hormone drugs - a popular form of doping in sports, can benefit throughout their entire career.

According to the Journal of Physiology, Norwegian scientists have previously discovered the existence of "muscle memory" , that is, if someone ever exercised sports at a young age, his / his muscles She will grow easier when practicing later in life. The team continues to investigate the effect of short-term exposure to testosterone on muscle growth.

Testosterone increases the amount of cell nucleus (green), helping to form muscles long after stopping the drug.(Photo: BBC)

A series of new experiments in mice showed that short-term hormone testosterone supplements helped experimental animals quickly develop muscle later in life. In particular, three months after being stopped using this form of doping, mice developed 30% more muscle after 6 days of exercise. Meanwhile, the group of mice that were not exposed to testosterone developed only 6% more muscle thanks to similar exercise, during the same time period.

Professor Kristian Gundersen from the University of Oslo (Norway) and a research leader, explained, doping drugs increase the number of cell nuclei in muscle fibers. These cell nuclei play a crucial role in building muscle strength when the owner practices. Research on rats revealed that the increased number of cell nuclei using testosterone will remain in the long term.

Professor Gundersen believes that the same thing happens to people. The researcher said the hormone drug could last up to 10 years after the user stopped taking it, but he and his colleagues do not yet have data to confirm it.

The team concluded that their findings imply a need to ban permanent competition for sports athletes who have ever used doping. They have now received a grant to further research on human doping.