Doping Control in the Republic of Moldova: Specific Features

Recently, there has been a strong effort regarding all sports organizations in order to reduce the universality and frequency of doping in sport. However, the efficacy of current strategies to fight against doping might be improved by using anti-doping polices adjusted to the features of doping in each sport. Contemporary sports activity is regarded as a complex phenomenon that involves both physical components, as well as a variety of medical, legal or economic aspects. In recent times, sport worldwide is marked by severe discussions on doping and its effects. In this context, athletes and team members must know the facts that may empower violations of anti-doping legislation and regulations on the doping control procedure. The acquisition of these legal and medical rules will motivate the development of sports, with the effect of preventing risks represented by the doping phenomenon.

Audiometry and doping control in competitive deaf sport

In the past forty years both the participating countries and the participants at the Summer Deaflympics Games have increased by 2.5-fold. Furthermore, there are approximately fifty European or World sports events organized for the hearing impaired. The aim of the paper was to discuss the procedures and requirements related to doping control in deaf people’s competitive sport in the context of the rising number of sports events and the participating athletes.For the sake of the fair play spirit of the dynamically developing deaf sports, The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) introduced rules governing the participation of hard-of-hearing athletes in sports events. Healthy individuals with a hearing loss of at least 55 dB are allowed. Thus, audiometric examination constitutes the first doping control criterion. Since 2004, ICSD has been cooperating with the World Anti-Doping Agency. The second criterion is, therefore, blood and urine sample control for prohibited substances. The 23rd Summer Deaflympics in 2017 involved 2858 athletes. Overall, 842 (29.5%) participants were randomly subjected to an audiological test; 9 competitors from different countries were disqualified because of non-compliance with the ICSD standards. A total of 300 randomly selected athletes underwent doping control for prohibited substances; 1 was disqualified. The world literature lacks scientific reports on deaf sports, including doping control.

Investigations into the elimination profiles and metabolite ratios of micro-dosed selective androgen receptor modulator LGD-4033 for doping control purposes

LGD-4033 (ligandrol) is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), which is prohibited in sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and led to 62 adverse analytical findings (AAFs) in 2019. But not only deliberate doping with LGD-4033 constitutes a problem. In the past years, some AAFs that concerned SARMs can be attributed to contaminated dietary supplements (DS). Thus, the urgency to develop methods to differentiate between inadvertent doping and abuse of SARMs to benefit from the performance-enhancing effect of the compound in sports is growing. To gain a better understanding of the metabolism and excretion patterns of LGD-4033, human micro-dose excretion studies at 1, 10, and 50 µg LGD-4033 were conducted. Collected urine samples were prepared for analysis using enzymatic hydrolysis followed by solid-phase extraction and analyzed via LC-HRMS/MS. Including isomers, a total of 15 phase I metabolites were detected in the urine samples. The LC-HRMS/MS method was validated for qualitative detection of LGD-4033, allowing for a limit of detection (LOD) of 8 pg/mL. The metabolite M1, representing the epimer of LGD-4033, was synthesized and the structure elucidated by NMR spectroscopy. As the M1/LGD-4033 ratio changes over time, the ratio and the approximate LGD-4033 concentration can contribute to estimating the time point of drug intake and dose of LGD-4033 in doping control urine samples, which is particularly relevant in anti-doping result management. Graphical abstract