> Until now, most experts have said they didn't believe gene doping was > yet in practice, but suggested it could be a threat by the time of the > 2008 Beijing Olympics.
> Springstein, who has worked with some of Germany's top runners, is on > trial in the eastern city of Magdeburg on charges including the alleged > doping of young athletes in 2003. Wow, the experts only missed the boat by 5 years. No wonder they're always several steps behind when it comes to testing. That is, assuming the '03 date is referring to the same nature of doping. Dan --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > 'More Brutal Than The BALCO Scandal' > > POSTED: 8:31 am PST February 2, 2006 > > BERLIN -- The trial of a German track coach accused of supplying > performance-enhancing drugs to athletes has included evidence indicating > gene doping already might be taking place in sports. > > E-mails seized in the investigation of Thomas Springstein contain > references to Repoxygen, a substance normally used in gene therapy. > > Gene doping, which is banned in sports, involves transferring genes > directly into human cells to blend into an athlete's own DNA in order to > enhance muscle growth and increase strength or endurance. > > Until now, most experts have said they didn't believe gene doping was > yet in practice, but suggested it could be a threat by the time of the > 2008 Beijing Olympics. > Springstein, who has worked with some of Germany's top runners, is on > trial in the eastern city of Magdeburg on charges including the alleged > doping of young athletes in 2003. > > The trial took an unexpected twist this week when the court was read > e-mails found when police raided Springstein's home in search of > evidence. > > In one e-mail, Springstein complained that the "new Repoxygen is hard to > get. Please give me new instructions soon so that I can order the > product before Christmas." > Repoxygen is designed for gene therapy on patients with anemia. It can > boost an athlete's performance by inducing the release of > erythropoietin, or EPO, a substance that stimulates the production of > red blood cells to carry more oxygen to the muscles. > > The International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency already > test for synthetic EPO. But there is no known test for Repoxygen, which > gives the body the gene to stimulate EPO production on its own. > > Werner Franke, a German scientist who has documented doping cases in the > former East Germany, said Springstein's e-mail exchanges about Repoxygen > and other substances suggest criminal activity. > > "This is about arranged bodily harm. This is worse than in the GDR and > more brutal than the BALCO scandal," Franke said in the Frankfurter > Allgemeine Zeitung. > Springstein has worked with athletes including former East German track > stars Grit Breuer and Katrin Krabbe. The two were banned from > competition for using the steroid clenbuterol in 1992. > > Copyright 2006 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this > report. > http://AbleDesign.com - Web Design & Custom Programming http://Run-Down.com - 10,000 Running Links, Fantasy T&F ------------------------------------------------------------ @ o Dan Kaplan - [EMAIL PROTECTED] <|\/ <^- ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) _/ \ \/\ (503)370-9969 phone/fax / / __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
