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Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry

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Print ISSN: 0951-4198 Online ISSN: 1097-0231
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Medicine & Healthcare, Sports & Nautical


7:00 PM EDT May 25, 2014

Anti-Doping Scientists Pilot Detection Test for EPO Producing Xenon Gas

In the ongoing arms race between elite athletes who dope and the scientists who catch them, xenon gas is the new battleground.  Xenon can be used for its anesthetic affect, but it can also stimulate the body to produce erythropoietin, or EPO.

While xenon is not currently banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, suggestions that it was used by athletes in preparation for the Olympic Games have prompted scientists to find out if they can test for it.

A pilot study published in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, analyzed a blood sample taken from a patient who had inhaled xenon. They found that testing systems commonly available in sports drug testing laboratories allowed the unequivocal analysis of the anesthetic gas up to 24 h after the end of the narcosis.

“State-of-the-art doping control equipment now provides the capability to measure Xenon in plasma and blood,” said Professor Mario Thevis. “This is highly relevant information in the context of the recently uncovered strategy of 'supporting' athletes with Xenon inhalation as the obtained data suggest an appropriate traceability of the substance in routine doping control samples.”