DOPING

Animal doping
An act of employing drug(s) in animals to deceive public about the health and/or
performance of an animal in any competitive show, trade (sale) or activity.
The drug used for doping is called dope while the treated animal is said to be
doped
Dope-test
Refers to an analytical procedure to demonstrate the presence of a dope or its
metabolite in the tissues(s) or body fluids of a doped animal to confirm indulgence
in doping.
Pre-race testing

This is subjecting the samples from intended competing animal to a dope-test for
any suspected dope detection before the animal is allowed to participate in the
competition so as to reject the defaulters. This test is routinely conducted on blood
samples collected 2-4 hours prior to the event, and occasionally done on urine
samples.

Post-race testing

Conducting the dope-test following the competition event. The test is aimed at
confirming that the animal under screen has been adjudged correctly without
having been exposed to the dope. Test animals for the purpose include winners,
beaten favorites and those that aroused suspicions during the competition.

Split-sample protocol

Means adopting a procedure whereby an aliquot of the test sample is separately

sealed for the trainer’s own analyst, should the official result prove to be positive.
The protocol offers a fair opportunity to the owner to confirm authenticity of
official results on its own.

Permissible Drug Concentrations

Refer to levels of the drug(s) in the body fluid(s) of competing animals which can
be treated as normal or permissible. These include drugs that are normally
occurring in the blood (of generally equines) such as arsenic, salicylic acid, 19-
nortestosterone and theobromine, and those permitted for use in competing horses
before the event such as phenylbutazone or oxyphenbutazone. An animal is said to
have been doped if the concentration(s) detected are more than permissible levels.

Clearance time

Refers to the time that must elapse after the last administration of the drug for a
dope test on the body fluid submitted for analysis to be negative. The clearance
timings vary with type of drug

Prohibited-drugs refer to a list of drugs that are implicated in doping or

anticipated to be put into use by the users.
Masking agents
Chemicals given concurrently with a prohibited drug before competition to reduce
the risk of detection of prohibited drug. A number of drugs have been implicated
for the purpose including amongst others diuretics, desmopressin, plasma
expanders (e.g. glycerol, intravenous administration of albumin, dextran,
hydroxyethyl starch, mannitol) and probenecid.

Doping agents used in animals

Category-1: Drugs intended to improve animal performance or to mask

impairments
Stimulants-Amphetamine, pentylene tetrazole, strychnine, ephedrine

Tonics and haematinics-Arsenicals, copper and iron

Local anesthetics- Procaine, lidocaine

Anabolic steroids- Stanozolol

Anti-inflammatory agents- Phenylbutazone, prednisolone, dexamethasone

Anti-asthmatics- Atropine, ephedrine

Vitamins- Thiamine, cyanocobalamine

Diuretics- Furosemide, chlorthiazide

Hormones- Methyltestosterone, insulin

Hallucinogens- Marijuana, heroin

Others-Scopolamine

Category-2: Drugs intended to impair performance of competition animals

Tranquilizers- Acetylpromazine, reserpine

Sedatives, hypnotics- Methaqualone, phenobarbital, secobarbital,xylazine

Hallucinogens- Marijuana, LSD, scopolamine

Hormones- insulin

Category-3: Agents frequently employed in malicious poisonings and

insurance frauds

Barbiturates-Secobarbital, pentobarbital
Pesticides- Methylparathion, lead arsenate, endrin

Rodenticides-Strychnine, metaldehyde

Feed additives- Monensin, arsanillic acid

Hormones-Insulin

Others- Succinylcholine, nicotine sulfate

FORMS OF ANIMAL DOPING

Animal doping may take any of the three forms:

1. Intentional doping

1.2 Doping to win (Excitant or stimulant doping)

The dope is used to improve the performance (courage, stamina or endurance) of

the animal. This is accomplished by using drugs that improve CNS and/or
musculoskeletal functioning such as amphetamines, caffeine, apomorphine,
fentanyl and anabolic steroids. This is also referred to as inside job since it is done
with the consent of the owner of the animal.

1.2 Depressant doping or malicious doping (doping to lose).

The dope is used to impair the performance of a competing animal in a show or
race. In this form, drugs that depress the CNS are commonly employed such as
tranquilizers, sedative hypnotic agents such as barbiturates, chloral hydras,
paraldehyde, bromides or alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists such as xylazine,
detomidine, medetomidine and romfidine. This referred to as outside job since it
done without the knowledge of the owner of the animal.
1.3 Therapeutic doping or controlled medication

The dope has been used to confer soundness to an otherwise unfit, unsound or
disabled animal. The act enables to mask the weakness in the animal. The animal
may be lame or behaviorally unfit such as suffering from crib-biting, resorting to
kicking, bucking etc. or may develop unsoundness during the performance such as
problem of fatigue, epistaxis etc. Depending upon the state of unsoundness,
different drug categories are employed. Antimicrobial chemotherapeutic agents are
used to mask infections; steroids and NSAIDs are employed to mask inflammatory
states of musculoskeletal system (include among other things lameness); alkalizers
like bicarbonates and sodium lactate are used prophylactically to check fatigue
resulting from accumulation of acids (lactic acidosis); furosemide may be
prophylactically used to prevent epistaxis or syndrome of respiratory bleeding in
susceptible racing equines and to alter weight class by causing excessive fluid loss;
narcotic antagonists such as naloxone, naltrexone, diprenorphine and nalmefene
and TRH may be employed to prevent

or mask crib-biting; and sedative-tranquilizers may be employed to mask

nervousness or aggressive behavior of the animals at show or sale.

2. Accidental doping

A state of doping that most often results from ingestion of prohibited agents vide
food/feed that are normal constituents of some feedstuff or of contaminating
herbaceous plant known to contain prohibited agent. It is an unintentional act of
doping wherein a prohibited agent appears in the body either due to its natural
occurrence in some animal feed or grazing plants or owing to metabolic alteration
of some other drug or results from contamination of samples by the handlers post
collection.

3. Intentional- accidental doping

This peculiar type of doping must be always suspected whenever accidental doping
involving feeding of plant material is concerned. There is always tendency to use
such plants for feeding that are known to contain some active components that
affect the performance of the animal, and the intent is to evade legal implications.
Intentional aspect of accidental doping must always be suspected in such events. A
large number of such drugs are likely to come through plants including cocaine
(Erythorxylon spp), morphine (Papaver spp), atropine (Atropa belladonna),
ephedrine (Ephedra spp), digitalis (Digitalis purpurea), cannabinoids (Cannabis
indica), caffeine (Thea sinesis, Coffee seeds or coca husk), and salicylates (Salix
alba or willow plants). Besides, theobromine can normally result from caffeine
metabolism and 19-nortestosterone may occur normally in equine body. Owners
must be advised not to offer coffee and tea to animals at show or before racing as
these tend to raise the levels of methyl xanthines such as caffeine, theophylline and
theobromine in their body fluids rendering the animals as suspect.

VETERO-LEGAL ASPECTS AND IMPLICATIONS OF DOPING

An animal must perform on its own natural health and merits without the
assistance of any chemical aid. This is the basic principle governing any animal
competition for exposition of their inherent talents. Any act such as doping that is
intended to breach this principle amounts to an unjust, unfair and dishonest
practice. The act of doping is thus violative of the norms set for any competitive
event or for trade. The act is not only deceitful, but may prove harmful to the
animal, or its new customer who might have accepted the animal at sale for its
pleasant and improved show at the sale counter. The drug may cause permanent
damage to the normal physiological functioning since the drug would mask the
infirmity such as lameness, and racing strain would aggravate the disorder. An
inferior animal may get selected for breeding purpose under the dope action, and
thus adversely affect the breeding line. Riding such animals that have been doped
to overcome a vicious habit (such as biting, kicking, rearing and bucking) is
hazardous and could result in serious injury or death to the rider. Consequently,
doping is considered as an illegal act as it is unjust, unfair, deceitful and even
dangerous for the animal and/or its owner such as jockey. Drugs serve as tools to
achieve this unfair activity in varying modes:

1) An animal with poor inherent standing at a given time and event is conferred
improved stamina, courage, endurance or vigor thereby rendering other more
competent animals to lose unfairly;

2) An animal incapable of competing effectively in an event owing to some

ailment such as lameness is enabled to participate or behave normally to deceive
the judge and even to subject the animal to stressful state;

3) An animal that is otherwise competent enough to win an event is rendered

incapable of effective performance for malicious reasons; and

4) An animal is adjudged to be sound when its physical or behavioral unsoundness

deserves it not to be acceptable to the customer for sale or for exhibition at an
animal show.

AN OVERVIEW OF DRUGS IMPLICATED IN ANIMAL DOPING

Drug category & Agents Actions & use

_________________________________ ______________________________

CNS stimulants

Amphetamine, methyl amphetamine, improve performance& locomotor

activity methyl phenidate, pemoline, caffeine,

Ephedrine, etaminophylline, nitroglycerine. Act on CNS in equines with doubtful

action in improving performance

Opioid agonists

Morphine, apomorphine, fentanyl; Produce amphetamine like effects in equines &

raise pain threshold

Opioid antagonists

Naloxone, naltrexone, nalmefene, diprenorphine; to prevent vice of crib-biting in

equines. Thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) also has similar action

CNS depressants

Phenothiazines-acepromazine, Maliciously used in ‘doping to

lose’

Propripromazine or to confer soundness to otherwise

Butyrophenones-Azaperone unsound, nervous or aggressive

Benzodiazepines-Diazepam animals

Alpha-2 agonists- Xylazine,

detomidine, medetomidine

Local anesthetics

Procaine, lidocaine, procaine penicillin; Suppress musculoskeletal pain Increase

cardiac stability to stress &tend to stimulate CNS in equines

Adrenoceptor agonists

Epinephrine, metaraminol; Improve cardiac function & energy Mobilization

Clenbuterol, terbutaline ; Improve respiratory function by acting as bronchodilator
& reduce exercise-induced bronchospams, increase lean meat content & decrease
fat deposition, improve skeletal muscle vascularity and functioning

Anabolic steroids

Boldenone, nandrolone, mesterolone, improve muscle mass, increase RBC & Hb

stanozolol contents, increase oxygen carrying capacity of blood, promote rapid

recovery from minor injuries enable animal to withstand stress of racing

Anti-inflammatory agents

Corticosteroids- Prednisolone, dexamethasone, betamethasone NSAID-

Salicylates, naproxen, PBZ, flunixin, meclofenamic acid;

Improve tissue perfusion & metabolism in shock, reduce loss of cellular enzymes
during exercise, mask lameness and prevent allergy mediated bronchospasms,
suppress pain and inflammation of musculoskeletal origin or even visceral pain,
animals tend to run despite having painful state.

Diuretics ;Furosemide
 Reduce pulmonary edema, increase urine volume so decrease urinary
concentration of suspect dope or its metabolite, specifically used to suppress
episodes of epistaxis and exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in
susceptible racing horses; nearly 26-75 % of all racing horses are prone to develop
EIPH. It also alter weight-class of competing animals

Systemic alkalizers; Lactates including lactated Ringer solution, sodium

bicarbonate

Provide surplus bicarbonate ions that tend to neutralize acidity following muscle
glycogenolysis and lactic acidosis during racing and therefore reduces fatigue.

Methylxanthines

Caffeine, theophylline, theobromine ; Stimulate CNS, improve cardiac function by

coronary vasodilator action and promote diuresis. The equines tend to be
stimulated more than other species

Notes:

Procaine – tends to stimulate CNS in equines than in other domestic animals, and
may protect heart from developing exercise-induced arrhythmia; Prethcamide (a
mixture of equal parts of crotethamide and cropropamide) is employed as a
respiratory stimulant in equines.

CHALLENGES AND ISSUES OF DOPING

1. A major challenge for any analyst is to identify the dope in view of a vast
number of available drugs being capable of modifying the biological functioning;
2. Observance of a clearance time is another major problem as it is subject to
variation by a number of factors including urinary pH. A racing horse has often
acidic urine than a nonracing one, and this would affect the urinary concentration
of some drugs raising uncertainties while comparing urinary drug analysis from
different groups. For instance,PBZ and its metabolites can be detected in urine for
more than twice as long in horses producing acidic than alkaline urine. As a rule,
basic drugs (antihistamines, local anesthetics, amphetamine, ephedrine, caffeine,
narcotics and tranquilizers) tend to be slowly excreted in acidic urine than acidic
drugs (barbiturates, salicylates, PBZ;

3. The policy of permitted medication (e.g. use of NSAIDs such as PBZ) has
proved to be the most controversial issue;

4. Laboratories may not be fully equipped to detect or to quantify the dope or its
metabolite including the substance(s) likely to get into the system through normal
feed/foodstuff.

5. Continuous increase in the number of potential drugs in the market poses

another major problem as laboratories have to remain fully and constantly active to
meet any eventuality.

6. False positives amongst the samples need to be always kept in mind if proper
cleanliness of appliances and the sample handlers is not observed. Besides, plastics
used during sampling and analysis must be free of plasticizers as they tend to
interfere with the analysis. Always ensure that the samples are well protected
against any contamination from collection to final analysis.

7. The sensitivity, or precisely detection limit, of an analytical technique would

determine whether or not a dope is detectable; a highly sensitive test would render
the body fluid of a doped animal to remain positive for an extended period than a
less sensitive test.

8. The rules pertaining to doping vary from country to country, and even from state
to state in certain countries. Therefore, there is no uniform international policy
regulating doping. For instance, corticosteroids are considered dopes in UK,
Ireland, France and Australia, while their use is permissible in Florida (1990) but
not in other states of the USA.

9. The problems faced by the veterinarian in matters of doping are on several

lines;

(i) The shortage of pharmacologic information that would indicate consistently

reliable drug clearance times in the horse.

(ii) The progressive increase in detection limits of newer analytical techniques such
that detection periods continue to vary with newer techniques.

(iii) The tightening of international doping regulations where uniformity exists for
majority of the prohibited drugs; and

(iv) An experience of professional dilemma whether or not to treat a sick animal as

extending treatment is a professional requirement while it may inadvertently
contravene the rules of racing or any such competition, impugning either his own
or the trainee’s integrity

10. Animals losing 5 percent of their body weight over the course of the fair are
suspected, so disqualified, for having been subjected to use of furosemide - a high
ceiling diuretic that causes excessive loss of body fluids endangering animal life
through severe hypotension and causing severe loss in life saving electrolytes; and
11. Use of doping agents may also pose serious public health implications. For
instance, clenbuterol is employed to reduce fat and provide animals with lean meat.
The FDA is working on new tests to detect such drugs in show animals. Officials
are not only worried about cheating at the shows by use of anabolic agents in
animals, but are also concerned that meat from the treated animals will harm
humans. Use of clenbuterol, one of the most common animal doping drugs, has
been blamed for human deaths in Europe.

References

1. S.N.Sharma, A.K. Gahlot, R.K.Tanwar. Doping. Pp. 349-352. Veterinary

Jurisprudence. NBS Publishers & Distributors, Bikaner-334001, 2003.

2. The Equine Manual. A.J. Higgins& I.M. Wright (Editors); Saunders, London, L
ADivision of Harcourt Publishers Ltd, 1998 (1999 Reprint); Drugs and the

competition horse, 246-252, Toxicology & Pharmacology 187-252 by

Q.A.Mckellar (Consultant Editor), J.D. Baggot, F.M. Cunningham, R.J. Evans, P.

Lees, A.M.Nolan & R.B. Williams

3. J.Sanford. Effects of drugs on performance of the horse. Pp.495-510. In:

Pharmacological Basis of Large Animal Medicine, Editors: J.A.Bogan. P.Lees,

A.T. Yoxall, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1983).

4. Thomas B.Barragry. Drug clearance and the doping problem. Pp.546-564.

Veterinary Drug Therapy. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia (1994).

5. David A. Cowan and Andrew T. Kicman: Doping in Sport: Misuse, Analytical

Tests, and Legal Aspects; Clinical Chemistry 43: 1110-1113, 1997.

6. Medico-legal aspects of doping: B. Madea, W. Grellner, E Musshoff, R.

Dettmeyer.

J Clin Forensic Med. 1998 Mar; 5(1):1-7

7. The 2011 Prohibited List World Anti-doping code (Valid 1 January 2011);
World

Anti Doping Agency, September 2010.

8. David A. Cowan and Andrew T. Kicman: Doping in Sport: Misuse, Analytical

Tests, and Legal Aspects; Clinical Chemistry 43: 1110-1113, 1997.

9. Medico-legal aspects of doping: B. Madea, W. Grellner, E Musshoff, R.

Dettmeyer J Clin Forensic Med. 1998 Mar; 5(1):1-7.