No abstract

Infant rats rewarded for crawling by being allowed to suckle on the dry nipple of an anesthetized dam showed a decreasing rate of ultrasound production during acquisition and an increasing rate during extinction. These results suggest that infant rats can be stressed and are aroused as a result of successive nonrewards just as adult rats are. In addition, these results do not support the hypothesis that infant rats lack inhibitory mechanisms related to poorly developed neural centers.

The current drastic escalation in obesity may be contributing to the exponential rise in drugs used for image enhancement. Drugs such as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are perceived as a viable method of achieving a perfect physique. They are also the most widely abused drugs in sport. The Internet has encouraged the abuse of expensive drugs, particularly human growth hormone (hGH), resulting in increased importation for personal use. The substantial increase in this market has opened up avenues for counterfeiting, estimated as a multi-million pound business. The acute adverse effects from contaminated vials may result in a variety of pathologies including communicable diseases. In 2007, in the UK, a series of intramuscular abscesses, requiring surgical treatment, led us to study samples obtained from the underground market. The analysis of 38 parenteral samples and 19 oral samples of tablets was performed by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory, in an attempt to establish the extent of available counterfeit products. Fifty-three per cent (20) of the injectable AAS esters and 21% (4) of the oral tablets were counterfeit. Culture and sensitivity revealed the presence of skin commensal organisms, which may have contributed to the development of the abscesses. Users of AAS and hGH for sport, including bodybuilding, are currently risking their health because of counterfeit and poorly controlled products.

Boxing exposes participants to the physiological response to high intensity exercise and also to direct body and brain trauma. Amateur boxing is increasing and females have also been included in the Olympics. The aim of this study is to assess the stress response and possible brain injury incurred during a match by measuring serum biomarkers associated with stress and cellular brain injury before and after combat. Sixteen male amateur boxers were studied retrospectively. The study population was divided into two groups: (a) a group that received predominantly punches to the head (PTH) and (b) a group that received predominantly punches to the body (PTB). Blood samples were taken before and five minutes after each contest. They were analysed for S-100B, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), creatine kinase (CK) and cortisol. The PTH group received direct contacts to the head (not blocked, parried or avoided) and to the body (n=8, age: 17.6 ± 5.3, years; height: 1.68 ± 0.13, meters; mass: 65.4 ± 20.3, kg). The PTB group received punches to the body including blocked and parried punches, but received no direct punches to the head, (n=8, mean ± SD, age: 19.1 ± 3.2 years; height: 1.70 ± 0.75, meters; mass: 68.5 ± 15 kg). Significant increases (P<0.05) were observed between pre-and post-combat serum concentrations in serum concentrations in PTH of S-100B (0.35 ± 0.61 vs. 0.54 ± 0.73, Jig.VI) NSE (19.7 ± 14 vs.31.1 ± 26.6, ng.ml") and cortisol (373 ± 202 vs. 756 ± 93, nmel.L"), Significant increases (P<0.05) of creatine kinase were recorded in both groups. This study demonstrates significant elevations in neurochemical biomarkers in boxers who received direct blows to the head. However, further work is required to quantify this volumetric brain damage and long term clinical sequelae.Children as young as 11 years of age are eligible to compete in boxing bouts that involve full contact blows to the head (1). Furthermore, female amateur boxing has also recently been included as an Olympic sport and is a testament to equality in sport and the assumed confidence in the safety of amateur boxing (2). The perception of safety surrounding the sport can be attributed to the lack of consensus in the scientific literature on the potential dangers involved in boxing (3-5), compounded by the assumed protection afforded by the mandatory use of headguards. This position is often assumed to be due to

Elevated CRP was evident in this cohort; however, whether high CRP levels during childhood and adolescence leads to an increased risk of CVD in later life has not been determined. Adiposity was related to CRP concentration, suggesting that reducing adiposity may be effective in lowering CRP and preventing future cardiovascular events.

Objectives: The long term effects (.20 years) of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use on plasma concentrations of homocysteine (HCY), folate, testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), free androgen index, urea, creatinine, haematocrit (HCT), vitamin B12, and urinary testosterone/ epitestosterone (T/E) ratio, were examined in a cohort of self-prescribing bodybuilders. Methods: Subjects (n = 40) were divided into four distinct groups: (1) AAS users still using AAS (SU; n = 10); (2) AAS users abstinent from AAS administration for 3 months (SA; n = 10); (3) non-drug using bodybuilding controls (BC; n = 10); and (4) sedentary male controls (SC; n = 10). Results: HCY levels were significantly higher in SU compared with BC and SC (p,0.01), and with SA (p,0.05). Fat free mass was significantly higher in both groups of AAS users (p,0.01). Daily energy intake (kJ) and daily protein intake (g/day) were significantly higher in SU and SA (p,0.05) compared with BC and SC, but were unlikely to be responsible for the observed HCY increases. HCT concentrations were significantly higher in the SU group (p,0.01). A significant linear inverse relationship was observed in the SU group between SHBG and HCY (r = 20.828, p,0.01), indicating a possible influence of the sex hormones in determining HCY levels. Conclusions: With mounting evidence linking AAS to adverse effects on some clotting factors, the significantly higher levels of HCY and HCT observed in the SU group suggest long term AAS users have increased risk of future thromboembolic events.

This study investigated the effect of repeated bouts of short-term, high-intensity cycling exercise on the salivary cortisol, testosterone and immunoglobulin (A) concentrations of 15-16 year old boys. Seventeen apparently healthy schoolchildren (aged 15.5 +/- 0.4 years) participated in this study. All participants completed 6 x 8 s sprints, interspersed with 30 s recovery intervals on a cycle ergometer. Using the passive drool method, salivary samples were taken before, and 5 min after, exercise. The group mean for peak power output was 723.1 +/- 180.3 s. There were significant changes (p < or = 0.05) in both SalT and SalC, 5 min after completing 6 x 8 s cycle sprints. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were recorded for SIg(A). The increases in SalT and SalC reported in this study confirm that repeated bouts of short-term, high-intensity exercise produces significant physiological hormonal responses in adolescent boys, but does not affect mucosal immune function.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) were the first identified doping agents that have ergogenic effects and are being used to increase muscle mass and strength in adult males. Consequently, athletes are still using them to increase physical performance and bodybuilders are using them to improve size and cosmetic appearance. The prevalence of AAS use has risen dramatically over the last two decades and filtered into all aspects of society. Support for AAS users has increased, but not by the medical profession, who will not accept that AAS use dependency is a psychiatric condition. The adverse effects and potential dangers of AAS use have been well documented. AAS are used in sport by individuals who have acquired knowledge of the half-lives of specific drugs and the dosages and cycles required to avoid detection. Conversely, they are used by bodybuilders in extreme dosages with the intention of gaining muscle mass and size, with little or no regard for the consequences. Polypharmacy by self-prescription is prevalent in this sector. Most recently, AAS use has filtered through to 'recreational street drug' users and is the largest growth of drugs in this subdivision. They are taken to counteract the anorexic and cachectic effects of the illegal psychotropic street drugs. Screening procedures for AAS in World Anti-Doping Agency accredited laboratories are comprehensive and sensitive and are based mainly on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, although liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry is becoming increasingly more valuable. The use of carbon isotope mass spectrometry is also of increasing importance in the detection of natural androgen administration, particularly to detect testosterone administration. There is a degree of contentiousness in the scenario of AAS drug use, both within and outside sport. AAS and associated doping agents are not illegal per se. Possession is not an offence, despite contravening sporting regulations and moral codes. Until AAS are classified in the same capacity as street drugs in the UK, where possession becomes a criminal offence, they will continue to attract those who want to win at any cost. The knowledge acquired by such work can only assist in the education of individuals who use such doping agents, with a view to minimizing health risks and hopefully once again create a level playing field in sport.