Has Actovegin fallen out of favor?

[Berzin]

Just out of curiosity, do they have a test for this particular product, or has it just fallen by the wayside because other doping methods are more efficient?

I never understood what this product actually does. Can it be equated with EPO in terms of its' efficacy?

Who were the riders allegedly using this besides US Postal, and has any busted rider admitted to using it?

 

[hrotha]

Manzano said he used it, presumably all of Kelme did around 2003-2004. I don't know after that. There was this theory that Contador's clen positive might have been caused by contaminated Actovegin, but I have no idea if the science behind that theory was sound.

 

[roundabout]

Wasn't one of the Russian skiers caught attempting to take it through customs relatively recently?

Yeah, it's not cycling, but it's the latest actovegin-related incident that I could remember.

 

[nfmcgrath]

Actovegin - I had forgotten about this product due to not hearing about it in a long time. but after a quick bit of research the product is not on the "banned list" it seems it was on there for a little bit (a couple of months) and then it was taken off....not sure how true that is though. I tried searching the USADA list of banned substances and it didn't come up. Admittedly this was very quick search.

It was supposed to work like EPO but from what I read (in the last few minutes) it is also supposed to work like insulin.

If you do a google search on Actovegin + Gas Bus there are a lot of hits.

 

[screaming fist]

From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actovegin

Actovegin is a protein-free extract obtained from filtered calf blood and has an insulin-like effect of increased glucose utilization. It also increases uptake and utilization of oxygen.

From the WADA 2011 Prohibited List:
http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/W...be_effective/WADA_Prohibited_List_2011_EN.pdf

S2. PEPTIDE HORMONES, GROWTH FACTORS AND RELATED SUBSTANCES

The following substances and their releasing factors are prohibited:
1. Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents [e.g. erythropoietin (EPO), darbepoetin (dEPO), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) stabilizers, methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (CERA), peginesatide (Hematide)];
2. Chorionic Gonadotrophin (CG) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) in males;
3. Insulins;
4. Corticotrophins;
5. Growth Hormone (GH), Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs), Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF), Mechano Growth Factors (MGFs), Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF), Vascular-Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) as well as any other growth factor affecting muscle, tendon or ligament protein synthesis/degradation, vascularisation, energy utilization, regenerative capacity or fibre type switching;

and other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effect(s).

[page 4 in the linked pdf]

[...]

M1. ENHANCEMENT OF OXYGEN TRANSFER
The following are prohibited:

[...]

2. Artificially enhancing the uptake, transport or delivery of oxygen, including, but not limited to, perfluorochemicals, efaproxiral (RSR13) and modified haemoglobin products (e.g. haemoglobin-based blood substitutes, microencapsulated haemoglobin products), excluding supplemental oxygen.

[page 6]

So it does not have to be named in the list to be banned, because the list specifies all products that have those effects as not allowed.

 

[Rip:30]

Huh. So what is it exactly? A "protein free extract" is pretty vague. Steroid hormone?

 

[nfmcgrath]

A couple of links - Not sure how much weight (if any) to put behind this first one

http://www.active.com/cycling/Artic...aks_three_ribs_____World_cycling_rankings.htm

These last 2 links are from '09


http://www.drugs-health.com/actovegin-actovegin-effects-n-11.html

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20091216/faq-on-actovegin

 

[joe_papp]

picture coming of ex-saeco

Just out of curiosity, do they have a test for this particular product, or has it just fallen by the wayside because other doping methods are more efficient?

No test.
Still used, but not in place of EPO or blood-doping. It's just another product in the bag of tricks. Russia provides much of the Acto used in the euro pro peloton.

I never understood what this product actually does. Can it be equated with EPO in terms of its' efficacy?

NFW!

Who were the riders allegedly using this besides US Postal, and has any busted rider admitted to using it?

Many guys. I'll post a pic of an ex-Saeco infusing acto...check back. No one big has admitted to using it though, IIRC.

Here is the pic: http://twitpic.com/5lffvw

 

[Berzin]

Still used, but not in place of EPO or blood-doping. It's just another product in the bag of tricks. Russia provides much of the Acto used in the euro pro peloton.

Yes, from what I know it comes from Odessa in the Ukraine.

Still not sure what the benefits are if it's not an EPO substitute.

I read the links provided and the benefits for athletes seem vague. Then again, the article I'm referring to stated it in medical jargon which I do not understand.

 

[the vagabond]

Why isn't this thread in that section where all the dope-obsessed can keep themselves cordoned off from actual cycling fans?

 

[joe_papp]

Yes, from what I know it comes from Odessa in the Ukraine.

Russia. Former Soviet Union. Six, and one-half-dozen of the other!

Still not sure what the benefits are if it's not an EPO substitute.

Here, in non-medical professional bike racer terminology is what it was supposed to do:

enhance energy production at the cellular level
enhance oxygen transfer process

(this is just what was said of it...I didn't particularly see a huge difference thanks to it, and certainly nothing that could compare to EPO.)

I read the links provided and the benefits for athletes seem vague. Then again, the article I'm referring to stated it in medical jargon which I do not understand.

That it's vague just means, to me, that it doesn't really do a whole lot. Because if it did, they'd be talking and writing about the benefits in very specific terms (imo).

 

[D-Queued]

Russia. Former Soviet Union. Six, and one-half-dozen of the other!



Here, in non-medical professional bike racer terminology is what it was supposed to do:

enhance energy production at the cellular level
enhance oxygen transfer process

(this is just what was said of it...I didn't particularly see a huge difference thanks to it, and certainly nothing that could compare to EPO.)



That it's vague just means, to me, that it doesn't really do a whole lot. Because if it did, they'd be talking and writing about the benefits in very specific terms (imo).

Thanks Joe.

I was wondering if it was used in conjunction with EPO, as some sort of way to round out or extend the benefits.

Any thoughts on that?

Dave.

 

[blackcat]

Dave:

Acto, acto, acto what?

 

[blackcat]

We know we are hitting peak oil, so the peloton hits the bus gas, or bas gus, to save on CO2 emissions

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2004/mar04/mar27news

Actovegin, another animal product, is essentially the plasma of a young calf. Manzano noted that the product he used was came from Germany and was quite expensive, referred to in cycling as the "gas bus", meaning it was used for particularly difficult races or stages. Actovegin is said to oxygenate the blood and provide a significant boost in power over a short time.
"In the short time trials it was used in the morning, but for difficult stages where there would be a lot of attacks, it was injected the previous day," Manzano explained. "When preparing for a time trial the 'gas bus' is combined with bicarbonate, lactic acid, and a brand of caffeine that is injected in the buttocks, which by the way, really hurts."

 

[blackcat]

"Here's the bottom line to everyone: I'll start by saying that we are completely innocent," Armstrong said on his personal website Tuesday. "We run a very clean and professional team that has been singled out due to our success.
"I will say that the substance on people's minds, Activ-o-something (Actovegin) is new to me. Before this ordeal I had never heard of it, nor had my teammates."

good ol' PRance Gunderson, hes just da antz pantz aint he?

 

[blackcat]

*** edited by mod ***

 

[balilli]

A little bit more information, from globaldro

"Additional Information: If this substance is administered by intravenous infusion, as opposed to intravenous injection, it is Prohibited under Chemical and Physical Manipulation (M2).

An intravenous injection is the supply of a small volume of fluid or medication, in a rapid manner, by means of a simple syringe.

An intravenous infusion is the insertion of a specialized needle into a vein and the infusion of fluids at a predetermined rate from a reservoir usually above the level of the body."

 

[JPM London]

A little bit more information, from globaldro

"Additional Information: If this substance is administered by intravenous infusion, as opposed to intravenous injection, it is Prohibited under Chemical and Physical Manipulation (M2).

An intravenous injection is the supply of a small volume of fluid or medication, in a rapid manner, by means of a simple syringe.

An intravenous infusion is the insertion of a specialized needle into a vein and the infusion of fluids at a predetermined rate from a reservoir usually above the level of the body."

So it's ok to use as long as you don't use very much??? Geez...

 

[python]

i am probably wasting my time, but I’ll give it another try debunking the myths that were debunked countless times.

1. By wada, actovegin is legal
they tested the sh .. out of it and found literally nothing forbidden.
http://www.wada-ama.org/en/World-An...s/Prohibited-List/QA-on-2011-Prohibited-List/

Actovegin is not prohibited in sport under the WADA List of Prohibited Substances and Methods except if it is used by intravenous infusion*.

*the link above contains the explanation on iv infusions.

2. actovegin can be bought w/o a prescription in switzerland
at least that’s my information as of the end 2010.

3. actovegin’s efficacy as a performance enhancer is anecdotal and probably dubious
no studies exists. a sports medic formerly on one scandinavian national xc skiing national team put it simply, ‘anecdotes aside, probably useless’

4. medically speaking, and almost exclusively in german-speaking countries, it’s used as a therapeutic agent for muscle strains

5. dr. hans-wilhelm müller-wohlfahrt knows more about actovegin than anyone walking the green earth.
http://mw-oc.com/en/Dr-MW.htm
his patients included word’s best futbolers, usain bolt etc

 

[L'arriviste]

A brief (reported) history of Actovegin in pro cycling

What may reasonably be interpreted by OP as a fall from favour could also have much to do with the trajectory of press exposure for a product that has always remained in the shadows compared with others.

According to my research, Actovegin pops up most often in reporting of doping cases between 2004 and 2006. This can be attributed mainly to the Puerto and Cofidis affairs, in which Manzano and Gaumont described their use of Actovegin (amongst an array of other products) in considerable detail.

In the earliest example however, Actovegin was also mentioned in the Este-Padova case, in connection with dodgy doctor Enrico Lazzaro, who may have been transfusing it in clients such as Davide Rebellin as early as 1997 (the product apparently first appeared in Europe in 1996).

In Puerto, the supply was traced back to Göttingen in Germany, where a certain anaesthetist by the name of Choina was alleged to have been shipping it to Fuentes via Ignacio Labarta, Kelme's assistant manager at the time. Beyond a raid by the German authorities, reporting on Choina's case is irritatingly minimal.

Actovegin probably reached Gaumont et cie via a serpentine and circuitous route which started either with the Paris pharmacy of the Paraniers or perhaps from a barely-investigated but apparently well-organised Polish connection. I cannot be sure which of these was the source (or possibly even both) because the press didn't make that distinction at the time, though one could suggest that the Polish connection handled mainly the riskier stuff, a key distinction which Actovegin has not really had.

 

[hrotha]

i am probably wasting my time, but I’ll give it another try debunking the myths that were debunked countless times.

Well excuse us, Your Highness.

 

[python]

such is the clinic reality when people like hrotha continue spreading ignorance

 

[hrotha]

such is the clinic reality when people like hrotha continue spreading ignorance

You might want to point out what ignorance I've been spreading in this thread (or in any others, for that matter). I appreciate your setting the record straight on actovegin, and I'm sure Berzin does too, since that's why he asked in the first place, but you don't need to be a pompous *** about it, like you often do with your "I'm wasting my time but..." lines which you use all the time. Not everybody is as knowledgable as you, and not everybody has been able to follow every single conversation about this pretty specific topic, but that doesn't mean you have a right to act all haughty and superior. That kind of attitude really puts people off.

PS: constructive criticism.

 

[python]

You might want to point out what ignorance

that's easy. i made five specific factual points with links and quotes.

you chose to add nothing but an offtopic snide that shows how thin-skinned you are.

thus you deliberately chose to spread ignorance instead of adding to the discussion.

it's ok when people don't know something. it's not ok when they imagine they *know* another poster's intent.

 

[Cloxxki]

I seem to remember the Russian was also hauling around IV equipment. So claiming he was just going to drink the stuff may not have held up there.
Is EPO allowed for oral use?

Since when is a substance only banned based on selected modes of administration? If it's forbidden for IV, can I get away with carrying a bottle of the stuff to a race, as long as I don't have a needle on me?