A Review of Erythropoietin Abuse: An Analysis of Effectiveness and Safety in Exercise

Abstract

Many athletes have been abusing performance enhancing substances for centuries to gain an advantage over their competitors. More recently, athletes such as cyclists, distance runners and crosscountry skiers have been utilizing recombinant human erythropoietin (RhEPO) to improve their endurance performance. In clinical practice, RhEPO is used to treat anemia associated with various disorders by increasing hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct) levels. Endurance athletes hope to use this effect in order to increase their VO 2 max, which may potentially translate into better athletic outcomes. In exercise studies RhEPO use has shown to increase Hb, Hct, VO 2 max, and time to exhaustion (TTE). Despite these potential benefits, RhEPO use has been associated with serious cardiovascular events and even death. This review will provide an in-depth analysis of RhEPO's effectiveness on exercise performance from various exercise studies, discuss its safety profile, and also analyze detection methods.