Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Cobalt chloride administration in athletes: a new perspective in blood doping?
  1. G Lippi1,
  2. M Franchini2,
  3. G C Guidi1
  1. 1Ist Chimica e Microscopia Clinica, Università di Verona, Verona, Italy
  2. 2Servizio di Immunoematologia e Trasfusione, Azienda Ospedaliera di Verona
  1. Correspondence to:
    Professor Lippi
    Ist Chimica e Microscopia Clinica, Università di Verona, Verona, Italy; ulippitin.it

Abstract

Blood doping is an illegal and unfair way of enhancing athletic performance by increasing the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. Currently used methods usually involve stimulation of erythropoiesis. Gene therapy targeting the hypoxia inducible factor pathway may be an attractive alternative to traditional blood doping techniques. Hypoxia activates a large number of genes with essential roles in cell and tissue adaptation to low oxygen. Cobalt chloride is a well established chemical inducer of hypoxia-like responses such as erythropoiesis. Cobalt supplementation is not banned and therefore would not be detected by current anti-doping testing. Although there is as yet no direct or anecdotal evidence of cobalt chloride administration to athletes, its use should be warned against as being not only unfair but potentially dangerous.

  • blood doping
  • erythropoietin
  • laboratory testing
  • cobalt
  • hypoxia inducible factor

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.