ergogenic aids Essay Example For Students

ergogenic aids Essay 1 . An ergogenic aid is any external influences that can positively affect physical or mental performance. 2. In 1968 the international Olympic committee began Olympic drug testing for stimulants because of the many deaths that have occurred among athletes due to drug use. 3. U. S physician John Ziegler developed the anabolic steroid Dianabol as an alternative to testosterone and to also level the playing field for western athletes. 4. Both men and women put themselves at high risk of heart attack, stroke, liver tumor, and depression when using steroids. Possible side effects for men ho use steroids are accelerated male-pattern baldness, decreased sex drive, reduced sperm counts, breast development and testicle shrinking. Possible side effects for women who use steroids are clitoris enlargement, menstrual cycle changes, Deepened voice, Breast reduction, Male-pattern baldness and Facial hair. 5. Anabolic steroids are ergogenic because they are used to have similar effects as testosterone in the body to increase muscle mass and strength therefore enhancing performance. 6. Caffeine is ergogenic because it has been shown to increase endurance. Caffeine increases plasma free fatty acid levels and muscle triglyceride se, while sparing muscle glycogen use early in exercise caffeine improves focus and technical skill during and after strenuous activity or fatigue Caffeine is believed to enhance fat utilization in the body and has also been shown to effectively increase time to exhaustion during endurance activities, as well as sprint, power and strength performance. 7. Yes creatine is an ergogenic aid because it is an external substance that improves physical performance. By increasing resting levels of creatine phosphate it is to regenerate more ATP and sustain a high power output, thus delaying fatigue and improving performance 8. Other ergogenic substances are: Avena sativa has been shown to increase testosterone levels by enhancing LH levels. A study show men experienced increased sex drive, enhanced erections and more pleasure during sex when taking avena sativa. It can also be found in many body building formulas. Geranium extract is a notably powerful stimulant with the ability to increase energy, and suppress appetite leading to its widespread introduction into a lot of different fat loss products. Cocaine is a narcotic that stimulates the central nervous system and, delays fatigue. Phenyl ethylamine is a powerful central nervous timulant used widely as an aid to suppress appetite and increase energy before workouts. Tyrosine is an amino acid which is of particular interest to those using other sports supplements designed to enhance energy. The use of Tyrosine with stimulants such as caffeine, is a cheap and effective way to increase exercise performance in short duration, anaerobic activities such as weightlifting. In the context of sport, an ergogenic aid can be broadly defined as a technique or substance used for the purpose of enhancing performance. Ergogenic aids have from use of accepted techniques such as carbohydrate loading to illegal and unsafe pproaches such as anabolic-androgenic steroid use. The efficacy of many of these techniques is controversial, whereas the harmful side effects are clear. The most commonly recognized form of ergogenic aids are dietary supplements, which is a multi-billion dollar industry that targets a wide range of populations. Some surveys have indicated that approximately 50% of the general population, 76% of college athletes, and 100% of bodybuilders take supplements to enhance performance. Most nutritional aids can be categorized as a potential energy source, an anabolic enhancer, a cellular component, or a recovery aid. Studies have consistently shown that carbohydrates, proteins and other nutritional aids consumed immediately before or after exercise enhance performance by increasing glycogen storage and delaying fatigue. However some of the products on the market generally have very little scientific evidence supporting the validity of claims and they do not have to prove a supplements safety, effectiveness, or potency before placing a product on the market. Pharmacological aids include performance enhancing drugs, both illegal and legal including but not limited to Erythropoietin, beta blockers, antihistamines, rowth hormones, anabolic-androgenic steroids, caffeine and amphetamines. Reaction to Tuesdays with Morrie EssayRT inhibitors are also effective when used with a new class of anti-HIV drugs known as protease inhibitors, approved by the FDA in December 1995. Protease inhibitors work by crippling a key viral enzyme called protease, which is vital to the reproduction of HIV in the later stages of its replication cycle.After HIV replicatesthat is, makes copies of its own protein componentsthese proteins must be cut to specific sizes before they can assemble into a mature virus. Protease is responsible for trimming the new HIV proteins to their required dimensions. When protease is blockedor inhibitedthe proteins are not cut andthe defective HIV cannot infect new cells. The first protease inhibitor drug, saquinavir (Invirase), was approved for use in combination with nucleoside drugs such as AZT. In March 1996 two additional drugs, ritonavir (Norvir) and indinavir (Crivaxin), were rapidly approved for use alone or in combination with nucleosides. A fourth dru g, nelfinavir (Viracept), was approved by the FDA in March 1997 for both adult and child use. Ritonavir, formerly allowed for adult use only, was also approved for adult and child use. Preliminary results from four American and European studies indicate that these drugs cause dramatic increases in the number of CD4 T-cells and decreases in the amount of virus in the blood. These results are about two to three times more powerful than those seen with the nucleoside drugs. Researchers cautioned that new studies show also that HIV can quickly develop resistance to these new drugs, at least when they are used alone. However, researchers suspect that the resistance can be delayed when the agents are combined with other anti-HIV drugsfor example, the nucleosides. In fact, the most effective treatment against HIV is now considered to be a combination of three drugs taken togethertwo nucleoside RT inhibitors and one protease inhibitor. Although these drug combinations may cause severe side effects (such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and anemia), when taken properly they can reduce blood levels of the virus to undetectable levels. Each drug must be taken according to specific guidelines, however, and one missed dose can allow the virus to quickly mutate to a strain that resists the drugs. These drug combinations can also consist of two nucleoside RT inhibitors and one non-nucleoside RT inhibitor, a new class of anti-HIV drug first recommended for approval by the FDA in June 1996. These drugs work similarly to nucleoside RT inhibitors in that they bind to the HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme. However, they do not compete with other nucleosides for binding sites. The first drug of this type to be developed was nevirapine (Viramune), which was appproved by the FDA in April 1997. A second non-nucleoside RT inhibitor, delavirdine (Rescriptin), is currently available only in test settings. Both drugs are effective only when taken with nucleoside RT inhibitors; they should not be used with protease inhibitors. No matter which drug combination is administered, researchers believe that the earlier a patient is treated for HIV, the greater the chance that the treatment will be effective. The development of antiviral therapies for HIV is complex, and each new approach and drug must be extensively evaluated for safety and effectiveness. The general perception that this evaluation process causes unnecessary delays in providing therapies spurred public demonstrations against the FDA. These demonstrations have resulted in policy changes that make experimental drugs and approaches more readily available to people with AIDS, even before the drugs or approaches are approved. Although early availability of a drug entails the risk that it may be used in people before its toxicity and side effects are fully understood, many people with AIDS are willing to take this risk with the hope that the drug may prove effective. Effective drug treatments are available to fight many AIDS-associated opportunistic in fections, and these treatments have provided clinical benefit and prolonged survival for individuals with AIDS. Recent drug treatments for PCP have dramatically decreased illness and death due to this opportunistic infection. Antifungal drugs such as amphotericin B and fluconazole are effective against AIDS-related fungal infections. The antiherpes drugs ganciclovir and foscarnet are used to treat CMV retinitis and other herpes diseases. Because these therapies require medical supervision and are often needed on an extended basis, a network of community hospices (see Hospital) has been established to provide low-cost outpatient care for individuals with AIDS. Some hospices provide shelter and compassionate support for people living with AIDS. Gene therapy, an approach that involves altering the genes of the infected person to help prevent the virus from spreading to uninfected cells, might someday be used to treat HIV infection. Gene therapy has been used in clinical trials to inhib it HIV by introducing into cells a new gene that interferes with the viral regulatory proteins. In other trials, gene therapy has been used to introduce a new gene that protects the cells from becoming infected by HIV. Efforts also are under way to develop an effective immunization that could be either protective, preventing infection if an immunized person is exposed to HIV, or therapeutic, prolonging survival or decreasing immune destruction in people already infected with HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently sponsoring a large-scale trial of a protective-vaccine candidate in areas of the world where the rate of HIV infection is just beginning to rise dramatically. In 1998 the FDA approved the first large-scale trial of an AIDS vaccine in uninfected volunteers. The vaccine, made from the viral protein gp120, is designed to stimulate the production of antibodies that could protect against HIV infection. The vaccine is being tested for safety and effectiveness in Thailand and North America. With the discovery in 1996 that HIV must bind to chemokine receptors as well as CD4 molecules, researchers also began to develop laboratory chemokines that might block HIV from attaching to these receptors and casing infection. Individuals who lack CCR5 receptors due to a genetic defect appear to be protected from contracting the disease. IXPREVENTION EFFORTS Because there is as yet no successful vaccination against HIV, prevention efforts have focused mainly on educating the public about routes of HIV transmission and about personal measures that reduce the risk of infection. The CDC has established the National AIDS Clearinghouse, a hotline to disseminate educational literature and current statistics on AIDS. Safe-sex campaigns encourage sexual abstinence or monogamy (sexual relations with only one partner) and the use of latex condoms to provide a protective barrier during sexual intercourse (see Birth Control). Needle-exchange programs have been implemented to reduce needle sharing and consequent HIV transmission among IV drug abusers. The U.S. government has set strict guidelines for health-care settings, including use of protective clothing and proper instrument disposal, to decrease the risk of transmission to both the patient and the health care provider. On a national scale, screening of the blood supply has greatly reduced the risk of contracting HIV from blood products. However, with the exception of blood screening, these prevention programs have had only limited success. XSOCIAL ISSUES Many people consider HIV infection and AIDS to be completely preventable because the routes of HIV transmission are so well known. To completely prevent transmission, however, dramatic changes in sexual behavior and drug dependence would have to occur throughout the world. Furthermore, prevention efforts that promote sexual awareness through open discussion and condom distribution in public schools have been opposed because of the fear that these efforts may encourage sexual activity. Similarly, needle exchange programs have been criticized as promoting drug abuse. Prevention programs that identify HIV-infected individuals and notify their sexual partners, as well as programs that promote HIV testing at the time of marriage or pregnancy, have been criticized for invading personal privacy. Efforts aimed at public awareness have been propelled by community-based organizations such as Project Inform and Act-Up, which provide current information to HIV-infected individuals and to individuals at risk for infection. Public figures and celebrities who are themselves HIV infected or who have died from AIDSincluding American basketball player Magic Johnson, American actor Rock Hudson, American diver Greg Louganis, and American tennis player Arthur Ashehave personalized the disease of AIDS and thereby helped society come to terms with the enormity of the epidemic. As a memorial to people who have died from AIDS, especially in the early years of the epidemic, friends and families of AIDS victims stitched together a giant quilt in which each panel of the quilt was dedicated to the memory of an individual who died from AIDS. This quilt has traveled on display from community to community to promote AIDS awareness. The U.S. government has also attempted to assist HIV-infected individuals through legislation and additional community-funding measures. In 1990 HIV-infected people were included in the Americans with Disabilities Act, making discrimination against p eople with AIDS for jobs, housing, and other social benefits illegal. Additionally, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act established a community-funding program designed to assist in the daily lives of people living with AIDS. This congressional act was named in memory of a young man who contracted HIV through blood products and became a public figure for his courage in fighting the disease and community prejudice. The act is still in place, although continued funding for such social programs is threatened by opposition in the U.S. Congress. The lack of effective vaccines and antiviral drugs for AIDS has spurred speculation that the funding for AIDS research is insufficient. Although the actual amount of government funding for AIDS research is large, most of these funds are used for expensive clinical studies to evaluate new drugs. Many scientists believe that not enough is known about the basic biology of HIV and recommend shifting the emphasis of AIDS research to basic research that could ultimately result in more effective medicines. Words/ Pages : 5,149 / 24