[LUM#20] The New Face of Doping

[LUM Magazine, Podcast] - Published on November 28, 2023 in Science and Society

Combating doping to promote clean sport is the mission of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which has equipped itself with effective tools. But while the use of these substances has indeed declined in recent years, doping has not disappeared entirely, as Michel Audran, an expert on the subject at the Max Mousseron Institute of Biomolecules, explains¹.

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Erythropoietin: while the name of this hormone, which stimulates red blood cell production, may seem unpronounceable, its abbreviation is much more familiar: EPO. And for good reason: this name was on everyone’s lips during the 1998 Tour de France, which was marred by several doping scandals. A practice that had long gone unchecked was finally tackled head-on following this“Tour of Shame.”

“This scandal highlighted the need for an independent international agency to set standards in the fight against doping and coordinate the efforts of sports organizations and public authorities,” recalls Michel Audran, a researcher at the Max Mousseron Institute of Biomolecules and a specialist in blood doping. Barely a year later, the World Anti-Doping Agency was founded.

The Race for Molecules

Among its goals is to slow down the veritable “race for new molecules” that athletes and anti-doping laboratories have been engaged in for years, with the former seeking new performance-enhancing substances that the latter are not yet able to detect. “To put an end to this, the World Anti-Doping Agency has negotiated with pharmaceutical companies, which now provide it with new molecules that could be used as performance-enhancing drugs as soon as they enter clinical trials. So by the time the molecule hits the market, we’ve had time to develop effective detection techniques, ” explains the biophysicist.

Another tool in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s arsenal is the athlete biological passport, which was introduced in 2010. “It is an individual electronic file that allows for the monitoring over time of biological variables that indirectly reveal the effects of doping,” explains Michel Audran, who headed the anti-doping laboratory in Châtenay-Malabry for three years (see “Michel Audran, a blood doping specialist, to revive the lab” in Libération, June 13, 2017).

Biometric passport

Throughout the year, athletes covered by this passport may be subject to testing at any time to detect the use of prohibited substances. “Its implementation, combined with improvements in the sensitivity of testing methods, has significantly reduced the use of certain performance-enhancing drugs by these athletes; today, fewer than 2% of tests are positive in France, ” notes Michel Audran.

While the expert believes this figure underestimates the actual rate—which is likely closer to 5%—the use of performance-enhancing drugs does indeed appear to be on the decline, a trend that is also reflected in athletic performance. “For example, since anabolic steroids have been detected, records in the shot put, javelin, and discus have shown little improvement, ” notes the expert.

Has sports become clean? “In reality, doping hasn’t stopped, but it has taken on a new form; to evade testing, athletes now take microdoses of performance-enhancing substances. Their performance gains are smaller, but the risk of getting caught is lower. People still dope, but less so; this is a direct result of the implementation of the biological passport, which is bearing fruit,” analyzes Michel Audran, who nevertheless emphasizes that much work remains to be done. “In particular, it is essential to develop education and prevention programs to prevent the spread of doping in sports, ” concludes the researcher.