Posts Tagged ‘human growth hormone’

The latest feat of Major League Baseball of extended “labor peace” with the Major League Players Association was reached on November 22, 2011.

MLB has apparently won out in its attempt to curb illicit use of human growth hormone (HGH) by its players, as per terms of the latest basic agreement between the parties.

From Sports-central.org:

The lockouts by both the NFL and NBA this year perhaps did not go by unnoticed by MLB brass in its seemingly under-the-radar collective bargaining talks with the MLBPA this past fall. MLB attempted to show up the other leagues’ rather unkempt labor relations.

And MLB Commissioner Bud Selig made it quite clear by way of his public display of self-aggrandizement during the week following a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was reached, that his is the first North American professional sports league to agree to such a test for HGH. And perhaps it was indeed Selig’s latest and greatest coup yet, in such a pronouncement, however yet to be realized.

The agreement will run five years in duration and expire on December 1, 2016. Article 39, Sec. 7 (b) of the NFL’s CBA states: “The parties confirm that the Program on Anabolic Steroids and related Substances will include both annual blood testing and random blood testing for human growth hormone, with discipline for positive tests at the same level as for steroids.”

Blood testing for human growth hormone will be included in the new collective bargaining agreement of the Major League Baseball. Testing would begin in February during spring training, according to a report in the New York Times.

The penalty for a positive HGH test would be the same as a positive steroid test — a 50-game suspension.

From Espn.go.com:

Baseball’s new labor contract also will include a rise in the minimum salary to $480,000 and luxury taxes on both amateur draft signings and international free agents coming to the major leagues.

There also will be a slight increase in the total of players eligible for salary arbitration after the 2012 season, when there also will be a new method to determine compensation for clubs losing top major league free agents. There also will be modifications to the luxury tax on high-payroll teams, but the threshold will remain at $178 million next year.

Labor negotiators of the MLB have reached a “handshake agreement” on all major issues, sources told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.

BALCO founder Victor Conte has remarked that the Major League Baseball may have come to an agreement with its players to test their blood for human growth hormone but the game would be required to come to grips with its present testing before it touts itself as the leader in new drug testing.

MLB should use a more sophisticated form of detecting testosterone or its HGH testing won’t really make an impact as players often make use of small amounts of testosterone in conjunction with HGH, Conte said.

From Articles.nydailynews.com:

“HGH is not effective unless it is used in conjunction with testosterone or other anabolic steroids,” Conte says. “It’s important to understand that HGH is not an anabolic agent. It is an anti-catabolic agent. It basically helps to reduce muscle degradation and enables a player to maintain the gains they’ve made using steroids for a longer period of time. By itself, HGH has been shown to have no significant performance-enhancing effects.”

Conte, who is now an advocate for stronger testing, has been saying for years that the 4-to-1 testosterone to epitestosterone ratio used by baseball and other leagues to detect testosterone use is ineffective.

“Testosterone gels, creams and patches will clear an MLB player’s system within a matter of hours and be below the 4 to 1 T/E ratio allowable in urine,” he says. “A player could possibly use a fast-acting form of testosterone at night after a game to help with recovery and their T/E ratio would be within the normal range by the time they would get to the ballpark the next evening.

“If MLB were to implement CIR testing, I believe they would possibly catch a significant number of players using testosterone,” Conte says.

Juha Lallukka, Finnish media say cross-country skier, has admitted that his blood samples show traces of human growth hormone (HGH).

The 32-year-old Lallukka admitted that it was in his sample, according to Finnish broadcasting company YLE and the Stt news agency, but lawyer of the skier denies his client used the illegal substance.

From Chinapost.com.tw:

Earlier this week, YLE quoted Finnish Ski Association chairman Matti Sundberg as saying a male Finnish skier is suspected of using illegal substances, but gave no other details.

Lallukka was a member of the Finnish team that finished fourth in the men’s 4×10-kilometer cross-country relay in Oslo, Norway, in March.

On Wednesday, Lallukka and his lawyer were not available for comment.

Georges Laraque and Andrei Nazarov fought each other for the last time almost eight years ago but the two former NHL heavyweights have now found the spotlight for different controversies.

Laraque says in his soon-to-be released biography, The Story of the NHL’s Unlikeliest Tough Guy that both tough guys and star players used steroids during his 11-year NHL career.

From Montrealgazette.com:

While Laraque doesn’t name names — in contrast to the storm Jose Canseco set off with his kiss-and-tell book about major-league baseball players using illegal substances — he issues a challenge for professional leagues to clean up their dressing rooms.

“Hockey, as well as any other sport in the world, has to take action against the human growth hormone that players have been using for a couple of years now,” he wrote.

Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, said it would be inappropriate to respond.

“Most of us knew who they were, but not a single player, not even me, would ever think of raising his hand to break the silence and accuse a fellow player,” Laraque wrote. “I don’t like snitches and will never be one.”

Two officers of the St Helens police have admitted being part of a gang involved in supplying steroids.

St Helens CID detective DC Paul David Fletcher, 46, one of the officers, also admitted three offences of misconduct in a public office.

From Liverpoolecho.co.uk:

Fletcher, of Downall Green Road, Ashton, had previously denied all the charges and was due to stand trial on November 15, but he appeared at the crown court yesterday for a pre-trial hearing and changed his pleas.

He also admitted a total of six offences of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs between December 4, 2010, and February 2, this year.

Five of the charges involved Fletcher being involved in supplying the drugs, including human growth hormone and testosterone to an undercover officers known only as “Neil”.

Terry Bridge, a fifth man in the dock, admitted having a total of 19 different drugs, including a variety of testosterone substances and diazepam.

Felony charges have been reinstated by a state appeals court against five operators of a former Florida pharmacy who were implicated in a network of steroid distribution.

The 3-2 decision by the midlevel Appellate Division of state Supreme Court has reversed the decision of Albany judge for disqualifying Albany County District Attorney David Soares from prosecuting the case, in part, as the defendants are suing him for alleged civil rights violations.

From Timesunion.com:

It marks the second time the criminal case against the former Orlando pharmacy’s operators has been revived by an appeals court. The former pharmacy’s operators were snared in what law enforcement officials said was a nationwide steroids distribution network that relied on doctors who signed prescriptions for patients they never met. A majority of the customers had no legitimate need for the drugs, which were used for bodybuilding and anti-aging purposes.

At least 17 people, including several physicians, have been convicted in the case. The investigation exposed illicit use of steroids and human growth hormone by professional athletes, celebrities and hundreds of others, including police officers. The case was cited in a report to Congress that analyzed steroid abuse in Major League Baseball, and it led to the suspension of professional athletes including NFL stars and pro wrestlers.

“We’re not going to make any comment on the decision and an appeal is under consideration,” said William J. Dreyer, an attorney for Robert and Naomi Loomis.

According to a new study published in The American Journal on Addictions, illicit use of HGH (human growth hormone) has become common among young American male weightlifters.

Illicit use of HGH in this population is often associated with polysubstance abuse involving both performance-enhancing and classical drugs, as per the study.

From Starglobaltribune.com:

Results found that 27 (12 percent) reported illicit use of HGH and/or its close relative, insulin-like growth factor-I. All of these 27 men had also used anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), and 15 (56 percent) also reported current or past dependence on opioids, cocaine, and/or ecstasy.

These findings suggest that illicit HGH use is common, and is usually associated with abuse of both AAS and ordinary street drugs.

“The long-term risks of high-dose HGH use are little studied, but available evidence suggests that long-term high-dose HGH may have serious medical consequences, including cardiac, endocrine, and respiratory effects, as well as increased risk for certain cancers,” Brennan notes. “Our findings suggest that mounting illicit HGH abuse may represent a dangerous new form of drug abuse with potentially severe public health consequences.”

The researchers were led by Brian P. Brennan, MD, MSc, of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

A convicted steroids dealer who told NFL officials that he sold performance enhancing drugs to many players was found shot dead in his home.

David Jacobs was discovered dead during a welfare check from Plano Police.

From Espnstar.com:

Police spokesman Rick McDonald did not state whether the case was being treated as a double homicide or murder-suicide. Authorities also have not stated whether a weapon was found on the scene.

Jacobs met with NFL security officials two weeks ago and provided names of players to which he allegedly sold steroids.

Hank Hockeimer, Jacobs’ attorney, told the Dallas Morning News that Jacobs told the league about his knowledge of steroid and human growth hormone use by current and former NFL players.

Hockeimer told the newspaper, “David provided them with documents corroborating what he was telling them.”

According to a NFL official, the league will drug test for steroids on game days. The official said he expects the testing to begin with the first week of the season as agreed to under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.

The league will use the game-day testing only for performance-enhancers and not for recreational drugs like cocaine and marijuana, according to Adolpho Birch, the NFL’s senior vice president of law and labor policy.

From Torontosun.com:

The new 10-year CBA that was hammered out during the NFL’s more than four- month lockout includes blood testing for human growth hormone, the first such test in any of the country’s major sports.

Details are still being hashed out, but Birch said the program is all but finalized at this point.

“The framework of the testing procedures, I think both sides would agree, is largely agreed to and I don’t expect that there will be much more need to discuss those,” he said.

As for game-day testing, Birch said the NFL has avoided it in the past because of the logistics involved.

“But we have now developed a solution that will allow us to do game-day testing in a way that is not overly disruptive to the clubs and respects the game-day process and all of the things going on,” he said.

“This is primarily a competitive issue, so we do not contemplate utilizing it for the substances-of-abuse recreational drugs,” Birch said during a conference call. “But it is something that will involve any of the potential testing we do under the steroid policy.”