Viagra and "performance"...

Eldron

Found this on a local website - it puts finding your dad with a trunk load of Viagra in a new light Who was that again? The name escapes me...

Not sure about their claims of a 40% improvement?! It would be fairly easy to spot the Viagra cheats though - between lycra and podiums there isn't much to hide the uh hard evidence...



Athletes doping with Viagra
Last updated: Friday, June 27, 2008
Athletes looking for a performance boost are increasingly turning to a little blue pill more usually taken for its off-the-field benefits: Viagra.
Some sports authorities say the drug is now finding a following among athletes.


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The World Anti-Doping Agency is currently studying Viagra's effects in athletes, but hasn't yet banned it. Experts are divided over whether it actually offers athletes an edge.

"It's possible," said Anthony Butch, director of the Olympic Analytical laboratory at the University of California Los Angeles, a WADA-accredited facility.

Viagra, also known as sildenafil, is manufactured by Pfizer Inc. It was originally developed as a heart drug; its use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction was only accidentally discovered.

The drug works by increasing the effects of nitric oxide, which makes blood vessels expand. That should theoretically allow blood cells to travel to the lungs more efficiently and to also receive more oxygen. It may also improve heart function.

Viagra is also approved to treat pulmonary hypertension, a condition where the lungs' blood vessels tighten. Doctors have used the drug experimentally to treat pregnant women with high blood pressure and to ward off jet-lag.

On-field performance enhancer uncertain
But whether Viagra makes athletes faster, higher or stronger is uncertain.

"Just because you have more nitric oxide doesn't mean that you are going to be a better athlete," Butch said. "If you have all the nitric oxide you need, and if you generate more from Viagra, it's not clear what effect that would have."

Still, some preliminary studies have shown that cyclists taking Viagra improved their performances by up to 40 percent.

"If you have more oxygen going to your muscles, that's more energy and that makes you a better athlete," said Dr Andrew McCullough, a sexual health expert at New York University School of Medicine. "Even if it only gives you a 10 percent increase, in peak athletes, that is enough to win," he said.

McCullough said Viagra is only likely to help athletes like runners, cyclists or skiers - sports where endurance and speed are key. Viagra does not work directly on muscles, so will not make athletes physically stronger.

Athletes often mistakenly assume that a drug will work in their bodies the same way it does in sick people.

For instance, in people with lung problems who take Viagra, the drug widens their blood vessels so they can absorb more oxygen.

Athletes taking Viagra might hope that the drug will expand their already normal-sized vessels to give them extra lung capacity. But some experts say that's unlikely.

Not meant for healthy people
"Viagra corrects problems in people who are in a challenged or diseased state," said Ian McGrath, a professor of physiology at the University of Glasgow. In normal people, the body's own regulating system is not so easily superseded by drugs, and taking Viagra may be useless, McGrath said.

Still, if Viagra does give athletes an unfair advantage, they will be able to take it at the upcoming Beijing Olympics without worry, since it is not on the prohibited list of medicines.

McGrath said taking Viagra could theoretically help people breathe better in heavily polluted cities, like the Chinese capital. "If you have some sort of illness from pollution, then Viagra might help," he said.

Many scientists at laboratories that conduct drug testing say they haven't noticed a suspicious spike in samples containing Viagra.

"We see it as much as we see ibuprofen or aspirin or antibiotics that are not prohibited," said Christiane Ayotte, director of a WADA-accredited laboratory in Canada. "Athletes may be taking it, but they may be taking it for non-doping purposes," she said.

Ayotte thinks it would be unrealistic to ban Viagra. "Are athletes going to have to submit therapeutic-use exemptions for Viagra?" she asked. "That would be quite humiliating."

Other doctors hypothesised that Viagra's more well-known effects on men's sex lives might be the ultimate explanation for any enhanced athletic abilities.

"It could be that athletes are taking Viagra and then having vigorous sexual activity," said Dr Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at New York University's Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. Varlotta doubted that Viagra itself could improve an athlete's performance.

"If athletes are euphoric after sex after taking Viagra, they may be euphoric about their athletic endeavors," Varlotta said. "That may make them a better athlete." – (Maria Cheng/Sapa-AP)

jhuskey

My wife informed me long ago that it is banned from our home. It must have been the thing about the "4 hour erection".

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Sobriety is over rated!

Wayne666

There was a study in the Journal of Applied Physiology recently that showed it helped athletes who have poor acute adaptation to altitude, acclimate better.

It probably wasn't coincidental that Molleta's dad was caught with a bunch of it on his way to the Giro this year just before they hit the big mountains.

classic1

I'm looking hard for some penetrating insights here. Toss one off at least.

Post dick jokes here.

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Crankyfeet

As far as I'm concerned... cyclists who use Viagra are hardened criminals. They should receive a stiff penalty retrospectively.

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jhuskey

The rigid doping rules put forth cannot always stand up without help therefore we should hold our heads high and not lose sight of our goals.

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Sobriety is over rated!

thoughtforfood

.."If you experince an erection lasting longer than 4 hours, take a picture and call your doctor"

I read a story about the difficulties that Japaneese translators have in translating books into english. The referenced a novel in which the translation read "He woke in the morning with a priapism, thinking of her.."

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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.
-- Albert Einstein

Crankyfeet

I don't know how anyone could experience an erection for four hours. I experienced one for half an hour once and my backside hurt for over a week...

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obxbes

recently read Viagra is being used by many pro baseball players . gives a whole new meaning to playing with bats and balls. count on U S pros to find the best performan e drugs

Bro Deal

You need to talk to Sting. He claims eight hours, and he doesn't need Viagra to achieve it.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

mikesbytes

Now I understand why there are bike seats with cutouts

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Training Log

Crankyfeet

I never heard that. What a tool to say that... unless he was joking.

I think I had an air swing with my "experiencing an erection" play on words...

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Bro Deal

He says he practices some sort of tantric sex.

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

Malkmus

Viagra yeah. Lets just say 8.55 inches baby.

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