2003 UPDATE ON SUPPLEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS

“Performance enhancing drugs continue to be a major problem in sports”. This was the message given by Dr. Gary Green in his presentation at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine’s (AMSSM) annual meeting in April, 2003. Dr. Green reviewed the newest “hot” drugs on the scene in the sporting world, with athletes forever trying to find whatever will give them the competitive edge. Dr. Green reviewed the controversy behind the drug ephedrine which has garnered a great deal of recent interest given the death of professional baseball pitcher, whose death was determined to be related to the use of ephedra-containing dietary supplements. Dr. Green reviewed how difficult it is to remain up to date with the dietary supplements that may contain ingredients that put the athlete at risk for serious medical consequences. Dr. Green also discussed the drug testing results performed at the 2002 Olympics and the challenges of confronting new oxygen enhancing technologies such as erythropoietin, darbepoetin, and gene therapy. Dr. Green is an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a charter member of the AMSSM.

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) was organized in 1991 by a group of physicians who recognized the need for an organization within the field of sports medicine that approached athletes, exercising individuals, and teams comprehensively with consultative and continuous care of their orthopedic, medical, nutritional, and psychosocial issues. Although sports medicine concepts are often thought of in conjunction with professional and elite athletes, these concepts apply to athletes of all levels including grade school, high school, college and recreational athletes (“weekend athletes”). AMSSM is comprised of Sports Medicine Physicians whose goal is to provide a link between the rapidly expanding core of knowledge related to sports medicine and its application to patients in a clinical setting.

NOTE: For more information, please contact the AMSSM, 11639 Earnshaw, Overland Park, KS 66210, (913) 327-1415 or office @amssm.org.