Ashenden explains the Biopassport

[Race Radio]

http://siab.org.au/what-is-blood-passport/passport-explanation.php

From the website of his research group. A decent overview

 

[Cobblestones]

http://siab.org.au/what-is-blood-passport/passport-explanation.php

From the website of his research group. A decent overview

We should make that sticky.

Even better, we should create a quiz based on that piece and only people with a passing score should be able to post in relevant threads.

 

[BikeCentric]

We should make that sticky.

Even better, we should create a quiz based on that piece and only people with a passing score should be able to post in relevant threads.

+1 on the vote for sticky. Make it so!

 

[BroDeal]

+1 on the vote for sticky. Make it so!

We should have a sticky "information" thread that only includes links to valuable information sources, enough that they form a foundation upon which most other discussions can be built. When noobs show up, we can point them to the info thread instead of digging up the same evidence/articles/whatever for the fiftieth time. The thread would have to be normally be locked to prevent extraneous posts.

 

[El Imbatido]

Interesting and helpful read thanks RR

 

[I Watch Cycling In July]

+1 for the sticky info thread & thanks for the link RR.

It's good that Ashenden is talking about things like things like altitude response being included in the bayesian approach. Hopefully some of the 'well I guess this might be happening' explanations for 'unusual' blood values can be ruled out by this method.

 

[Cobber]

We should make that sticky.

Even better, we should create a quiz based on that piece and only people with a passing score should be able to post in relevant threads.

Ha ha.... +1 on the quiz. No posting in the Clinic until you can correctly define HCT, Hg conc, OFF-score and z-score. If you have a "livestrong" anything you are also disqualified!

 

[Escarabajo]

We should have a sticky "information" thread that only includes links to valuable information sources, enough that they form a foundation upon which most other discussions can be built. When noobs show up, we can point them to the info thread instead of digging up the same evidence/articles/whatever for the fiftieth time. The thread would have to be normally be locked to prevent extraneous posts.

Excellent point. I already had gathered a library of links with documents that I have ready when I am having a discussion with somebody. here are some of them that I have used lately:

1- This one.http://siab.org.au/what-is-blood-passport/passport-explanation.php
2- Drugs Work, but by how much? A look ar drugs and performance http://www.sportsscientists.com/2007/06/drugs-work-but-by-how-much-look-at.html
3- The effect of EPO on performance. http://www.sportsscientists.com/2007/11/effect-of-epo-on-performance-who.html
4- http://nyvelocity.com/content/interviews/2009/michael-ashenden
5- Power Output Calculators:
http://swiss2.whosting.ch/mdetting/sports/cycling.html
http://www.mne.psu.edu/lamancusa/ProdDiss/Bicycle/bikecalc1.htm
6- Aguide to VO2 Max
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/VO2max.html
7- I have a Copy of the Summary made by "I watch Cycling in July" which I found Complete.

I've been wondering about measurement errors and statistical significance for data interpretation too. Heres's a summary of the patchy info I have been able to glean from the net – if anyone has better info or corrections to add, that would be great.

A within-subject coefficient of variation for reticulocyte count of 11% is reported in this abstract http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2295125. This study also reported that the change in reticulocyte count required to make one result significantly different from the previous result was about 35%. Reticulocytes are the most sensitive blood parameter to bone marrow stimulation, but the within-individual variability is higher than for hemoglobin and hematocrit (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5573106_Reticulocytes_in_sports_medicine). This abstract also suggests that the variability in athletes is similar to the general population, and that reticulocyte count shows some modifications after training and during the competition season.

For hemoglobin concentration (Hb), http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18672594 indicates that the better data analyzers have a SD of <0.25 g/dl. If we assume that UCI accredited labs have properly calibrated and high standard equipment, an error of 0.5g/dl seems like a reasonable estimate. It is worth noting though, that tourniquet time, blood drawing technique, body posture and storage can also affect results (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18812283 and http://www.fims.org/files/311417173...08/Strategies-to-combat-doping-in-cycling.pdf)
Natural variation in Hb depends on changes in blood volume, mostly due to dehydration/plasma shift, and changes in the total hemoglobin mass (Hbmass). Natural variability in Hbmass seems to be quite small (within 2%) for normal healthy adults (http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/4/982), although changes of around 5% have been observed with altitude (e.g. http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/100/6/1938 and http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mksg/sms/2008/00000018/A00101s1/art00008). Conversely, some studies have found little or no altitude affects on Hbmass but this might be because the altitude wasn't high enough, or the training wasn't right (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18768367.) Endurance training might also cause a small increase in Hbmass (http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/SCHMIDT.pdf ) and chronic fatigue/illness/injury can presumably lead to a decrease.

Plasma volume changes can have a substantial effect on Hb. For example, an approximately 7% decrease in Hb and hematocrit, for 7 elite cyclist during a GT, has been attributed to plasma volume expansion (http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=20274125). Elapid posted more interesting info on plasma volume changes here http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?p=83969&highlight=plasma#post83969. Further information on Hb variability in general can be found here http://www.mendeley.com/c/92011807/Mørkeberg-2009-Changes-in-blood-values-in-elite-cyclist/. Another example is plasma volume response to altitude. This usually begins with hemoconcentration in the first few days, which reverses to a more gradual plasma expansion, but the between-subject variability after a few weeks seems very high e.g. http://jap.physiology.org/content/vol100/issue6/images/large/zdg0060666600002.jpeg.

Please note that many of these points are from abstracts or non-peer reviewed articles, and hence may have limited application for data interpretation.

Finally has there been a good discussion on local cyclist part 4 somewhere that I missed?

8- I know Elapid has brought some good ones. We need to include them also.

9- The doping Dilemma:http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-doping-dilemma

10- Summary of the Armstrong lawsuit against SCA Promotions. We can include the Betsy Andreu testimony.


etc, etc, etc.

 

[krebs303]

IMHO a lo of the info in this forum is either naive or too technical. I think a primer along the lines of "Doping for Dummies" would go along ways. Just something basic and simple. With links provided to more detailed info.
Well I'm off to eat my gluten free supper spinning high cadence in my hyperbaric sauna and knock back a couple of liters of my secret water.
I'm no dope