The supplements industry has been in the headlines for the previous months due to its involvement in the tainted supplements controversy. The FDA had already issued warning letters to some nutritional companies selling anabolic steroids products. The Congress initiated a hearing to determine if a new law is needed to stop the proliferation of supplement products tainted with anabolic steroids. Enforcement authorities feel that existing laws were not enough thus making it more difficult to monitor and control illegal supplement products. The stakeholders of the supplement industry are still optimistic that the FDA and DEA can do their jobs effectively since this controversy affects the entire industry.

The intervention of the FDA is also showing some good results. Two months ago, a nutritional company pulled out from its distributors the products which were believed to be contaminated with anabolic steroids or with steroid-like contents. These were based on the laboratory testing conducted by the federal authorities. However, it was reported by CBS News that one of the products of ACL is still available in the market. In the “Early Eye” investigation of Kelly Cobiela, she said that Tren and other prohormone products are still being sold at supplements store and even online. Over-the-counter steroids are popular for bodybuilders and discussions of how they work and its effects are widely discussed in gyms and supplement stores according to the report.

During their undercover investigation, Cobiela’s team were able to interview some personnel of health and supplement stores. A respondent shared his experience with the supplement Tren which gave him a decent amount of size and gave him leaner muscles. This is one of the noted effects of Tren since it develops and builds muscles quickly. The team also observed that it is difficult to know the products which are considered safe and not tainted with anabolic steroids.

The product which the investigating team was able to purchase online and from supplement stores were subjected to laboratory tests to determine if it really contain anabolic steroids. They brought it to Dr. Don Catlin, an anti-doping expert. The results showed that all the samples contain steroids which make them illegal under the federal food, drug and cosmetic act.

Cobiela said in her show that supplement manufacturers are 10 steps ahead of regulators in developing new designer steroids. There are companies who tweak the molecule of some illegal anabolic steroids and market it as a legal dietary supplement. The wide market and increasing demand for these products are some of the reasons why manufacturers opt to adopt this strategy. The supplements industry is a multi-billion dollar business.

She advised people who want to purchase over-the-counter supplements to do some research especially if they are not sure about the contents. “while these products don’t say “steroid” on the package, if you do your research online, you’ll know whether they are steroids from what people say about the product on the Internet,” she said.

An individual who suffered complications from taking Tren was also featured in the CBS News article. The common side effects of Tren according to the user were jaundice and liver damage. A business professional who is into bodybuilding took Tren for only 3 months but already developed complications. A prominent liver transplant specialist at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California was alarmed on the severe liver damage that may be caused by this supplement. Dr. Zeid Kayali said that the multiple cases of liver disease for healthy people with no risk factor at a very short period of time is very alarming.

Two large pharmaceutical companies venture into the development of human growth hormone and other biosimilar products. Critical Pharmaceuticals of Europe recently announced that it will develop a nasal spray of human growth hormone (hGH) using its proprietary technology. The company was able to get £1.5m funding from Wellcome Trust. Pharmaceutical companies are interested in investing in HGH development because of its large market. In 2007, the estimated sales of HGH worldwide reached $2.8 billion. HGH is commonly used for the treatment of growth disorders but it is also popular among athletes.

The chief executive officer of Critical Pharma, Lisbeth Illum said in a press release that the market for HGH represented a major opportunity for their company. She said that the project addresses a large unmet medical need and demand for biological products continue to grow which represents 30% of new drugs. She noted that 98% of the products available in the market including HGH are administered through injection which can cause patient compliance. “Current therapies require daily injections and are strongly disliked by patients and their carers. We believe Critical Pharmaceuticals’ CriticalSorb™ technology has the potential to enable the non-invasive delivery of not just human growth hormone but many other biological drugs with at least equivalent efficacy,” she added.

The company’s CriticalSorb™ technology was proven to enable the efficient delivery of biological drugs with exceptional bioavailabilities during preclinical studies. It is also considered as a “GRAS” material which means that it is generally regarded as safe for drugs administered orally or intravenously.

In its press release, the company will be supported by Wellcome Trust in the development of nasal human growth hormone through phase 1 proof of concept study in human volunteers and determine the long term nasal tolerability of CriticalSorb. The head of Business Development Technology Transfer Division of Wellcome, Richard Seabrook, said that technologies for non-injectable administration of complex drugs like human growth hormone are desperately needed. “We are very pleased to be funding this application of CriticalSorb™ which may avoid patient discomfort and improve eventual outcomes for this patient population. We look forward to Critical’s results,” Seabrook added.

Meanwhile, Access Pharma is also expected to release its new drug at the end of this year. The company developed a Vitamin B12 based nanopolymer drug delivery system for the oral administration of large molecules such as insulin, human growth hormone (hGH), and erythropoietin (EPO) in preclinical animal models. This unique delivery mechanism uses the the body’s vitamin B12 absorption system in a Trojan Horse manner. With this method, it has a potential to eliminate the usual procedure of injecting drugs like HGH, insulin and EPO.

Mike Havrilla, writer for biotech industry wrote in his column that Access is also in the process of validating its insulin product before it finally enters into formal licensing negotiations. “A long-acting, basal insulin product (similar to the activity profile of Lantus insulin) is the most advanced in terms of achieving oral bioavailability of about 80-90% after initially achieving results in the 30-40% range, he said. According to the company, there are two bio-pharmaceutical companies currently conducting preclinical studies on their basal insulin product.

If every sport organizations are implementing strict policy on the use of performance enhancing drugs and steroids, Dallas Mavericks owner has a different stand on the issue. His statement draws various reactions from sports writer as well as other critics who are against steroid use in sports. Many people reacted because it may send a wrong signal to athletes that using performance enhancers are okay to excel in sports.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told a group of students during a forum at the University of Pittsburgh that his “common sense” tells him that athletes could benefit from using steroids if they were made legal. This is in response to the question about the suspension of Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis who was sanctioned with a 10-game suspension in August for violating the drug policy of NBA.

In the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report, Cuban said steroids can be used by athletes to recover from injuries provided that there is a supervision of a doctor to see to it that there will be no long-term harmful side effects. “If you administer them properly and fairly and set the rules strictly as long as in doing so we recognize there are no negative long-term health impact issues.” Cuban knows that his remarks could create bad impression against him. “I will get killed for saying this but I’m not so against steroids. We do performance-enhancing things all the time, just not steroids,” he said.

Although he is in favor of making steroid legal, the Mavericks owner is not expecting that sports league will abandon their steroid testing programs. “You have to get to the point where that risk isn’t there and we are not there yet,” he said.

Gwen Knapp of San Francisco Chronicle agrees that certain steroids can be used safely in short term dosages to help an athlete recover from injuries but doubts if it can be monitored properly if it will be legally allowed to be used by professional athletes. “How can we hope to monitor the amounts athletes use? Institute testing that assesses levels of usage? That’s not feasible. It’s been hard enough for scientists to devise tests that reliably detect the presence of a performance-enhancing drug,” Knapp added. Problems could also arise in the amateur level.

On the other hand, Rub Lunn, a former professional football player and a sports writer said that Mark Cuban has a point. “Cheating is well wrong, but if you buy it packaged and sold, well, those moral lines blur a bit. If the NCAA or NFL chose to monitor, regulate and “package” steroid use in a responsible way, then I’d be all for it,” he said. Although he is also concerned if it can be properly monitored by their respective sport organizations.

Under the current NBA policy on steroids, a first positive steroid test results in 10 game suspension while a second offense will result in a 25-game suspension. A player who violated the policy on the third time will be suspended for a year. The NBA conducts random tests four times each season.

Professional wrestling is always associated with steroid use. Several professional wrestlers were already implicated in the use of performance enhancing drugs that brought them to fame but at the same time risking their lives. The “attitude era” is synonymous with wrestlers dependent on steroids. The story of Chris Benoit is an example of how steroids can ruin career and family if not used properly. Other wrestler’s deaths from the time of Hulk Hogan up to the time of John Cena were associated with performance enhancers.

Right now, the company who brought wrestling as a form of entertainment wants to overhaul their image which was long tainted with steroid use. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon initiated a bold step to change the image of their programs which include removal of offensive languages, bloody fights, and lingerie matches. Wrestlers like John Cena and Rey Mysterio who are popular to young audiences get more publicity. They also published magazine for Kids. With these initiatives, WWE was able to get PG ratings for their programs which were previously rated TV-14.

According to McMahon, the changes are based on the clamor of their audiences. In the Associated Press interview, McMahon said that they only listened to what the audience wants. He believes that it is the right business move specially in trying to capture larger share of the audience. The WWE’s programs like the Monday Night Raw, Extreme Championship Wrestling, WWE Superstars, and Friday Night Smackdown are being broadcast in different networks. The strategy has attracted new advertisers for these programs which previously shunned WWE.

The WWE chairman did not want to compete with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts which are now becoming popular and considered as their competitors. Intensifying violence and sexuality on their shows will not make any sense according to McMahon. “You really can’t compete with that. Why not deliver a more sophisticated product and not go to those extremes? If the audience wants those extremes, they know where to go and how to get it,” he said.

Meanwhile, a pro wrestler who was previously charged with possession of human growth hormone was cleared by the court. Professional wrestler Kurt Angle who was arrested for human growth hormone possession and driving with a suspended license was cleared of the charges by District Judge Carla Swearingen of Pittsburgh. Angle was arrested by police officers when they found HGH Hygetrophin in his car but during the hearing Angle was able to prove that he has legal prescription for the drug.

Angle told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he has been completely innocent of any charges that have been brought against him and God has shown it when they were able to prove it in court. “I’ll continue to live my life by the law the way I’ve always done, and I will always abide by the law and try to be a role model in this community, and that’s all I’ve ever asked for,” he added.

On the other hand, Jeff Hardy will still appear on a WWE DVD even with pending charges on possession of anabolic steroids and other controlled substances. TNAHeadlines.com reported that the World Wrestling Entertainment is continuing the Jeff Hardy DVD productions. The DVD is tentatively scheduled for release on December.

Hardy is facing charges for trafficking in controlled prescription drugs and possession of anabolic steroids. Authorities searched his Raleigh residence last month and found various prescription pills like Vicodin, Soma, and anabolic steroids. Traces of cocaine and other drug paraphernalia were also found during the search.

Members of the weightlifting team of India have not learned their lesson from previous competitions where they were banned because of positive tests for performance enhancing drugs. The fiasco in 2004 and 2006 may happen again because of the latest report that three additional weightlifters from their national team failed a drug test conducted by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA). Last month, 2 lifters failed an out-of-competition-test.

The series of tests conducted by WADA is in connection with the Commonwealth Championship games which will start on Sunday. The failed test result was confirmed by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) secretary Baldev Gulati to Reuters. He confirmed that 2 male lifters and 1 female were added to the list of athletes found to be having anabolic steroids on their system. They were weightlifters Harbhajan Singh, Rajesh Kumar and Bijaya Devi. The 2002 Commonwealth Games women’s 75kg gold medalist Shailaja Pujari and Vicky Batta for 56kg category also failed the test last month. Pujari failed in the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) test while Batta returned positive results in a World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) test.

The lifters will definitely face sanctions from their sports organization and will be banned from participating in the Commonwealth Games. But the worst penalty is the suspension that will be given to the national body according to the report. The secretary general of the weightlifting federation was surprised on the result saying that they are conducting periodic test to detect if athletes are taking steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. “I’m dumbfounded. All of them have shown some sort of anabolic steroid,” said Gulati. “This shows something has happened in the last 20 days, just before the Commonwealth championships, (lifters) trying something, if this is correct,” when he told Reuters about the incident.

Athletes who failed a steroid test can contest the result and ask for their B sample to be tested. This will validate if there were errors in the previous result. The lifters have no other choice but to adopt this option. According to Gulati, the lifters have already denied any wrongdoing and did not conform to the test result.

With the increasing numbers of athletes failing a steroid test, there could be a possibility of systematic doping in the national team. “What is causing a bit of suspicion is all of them have tested for the same type of anabolic steroid, the same quantum. There is something that doesn’t look very natural,” Gulati said. According to Reuters, the national coach for weightlifting, Magad Salama, resigned last year because of doping of senior lifters.

In a previous interview with The Telegraph India, Gulati said that weightlifting is a power sport and lifters need supplements but they have to be mindful of the banned substances. “We try to educate them about the banned substances and have always told them to consult a specialist before consuming supplements,” he added. “It’s the greed of a few lifters which sullies the image of not just the federation but the entire country.”

The host for the 2012 Olympics wants to make the next olympics clean and free from controversies especially when it comes to doping athletes. The country is aware that some professional athletes may still take the risk of using prohibited substances to gain competitive advantage. In every Olympic competition, many athletes are still found violating the IOC rules particularly the list of banned substances. The United Kingdom is now establishing new regulations and as well as created a new agency to monitor and prevent athletes from taking performance enhancing drugs.

A new agency which will be task to monitor more than 14,000 athletes in the 2012 London Olympics has been formed. The United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD), which is composed of former police and custom officers, will also link up with other government agencies. The UK Border Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency will also help in its operation. The government has allocated £7.3 million budget for its first year operation which will start this December. Other task of this agency is to gather intelligence and at the same time test athletes for banned substances which include anabolic steroids.

Ashling O’Connor of TimesOnline UK reported that UKAD will also establish a confidential hotline to prevent drug cheats. The hotline will allow the public to provide information related to illegal importation and distribution of anabolic steroids in the country. It is also open to athletes, coaches and officials who want to offer information on the use of performance enhancing drugs which is a violation of the competition rules. Since the calls will be treated as confidential and anonymous, the agency is expecting that the strategy will be successful. However, the agency will not provide financial rewards to those people sharing the information.

According to the chief executive of UKAD, Andy Parkinson, it is not their intention to become the police force within sport. Their objective is to detect cheating athletes even before they got to the start line. Parkinson said that they want clean athletes to come and assured them that any information will not be misused by their agency. “All athletes want to compete in a clean environment but we can’t do it alone. We have seen a global change in direction that means we cannot just target the end user but have to stop substances getting to vulnerable athletes,” he said.

In the previous olympics, the IOC had caught several athletes violating the anti-doping rules. Most of these athletes were stripped off their medals and banned from their respective sports. In the last Beijing Olympics, even the Chinese national team has athletes who failed drug tests. Five of their swimmers caught using clenbuterol were banned.

To prevent similar incidence, some UK ministers are proposing a new rule for competing athletes. They suggested that the room of athletes should be searched as a condition of their participation in the games. They already asked the International Olympic Committee to include this in the contract of athletes. O’Connor wrote in his column that this may become controversial since olympic officials will be given the power to search the belongings of athletes and their coaches during the competition. Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said that this proposal would act as a deterrent. “I don’t think it would be beyond the pale. Inspection would act as a deterrent,” he said. Sutcliffe also added that the integrity of sport must not be put at risk and fans need to be confident that the athletes they are watching are clean.