Doping, Performance-Enhancing Drugs, and Hormones in Sport: Mechanisms of Action and Methods of Detection examines the biochemistry and bioanalytical aspects of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and other questionable procedures used by athletes to enhance performance. The book informs the specialist of emerging knowledge and techniques and allows the non-specialist to grasp the underlying science and current practice of the discipline. With clear and compelling language appropriate for a broad spectrum of readers, this book provides background on prevalence, types of agents, their actual or supposed benefits, and their negative effects on health. The technical aspects of detection are discussed, followed by a discussion of why detection is a problematic and still-evolving science. To facilitate comprehension, each chapter is organized in a uniform way with six sections: (1) standard medical uses, (2) why the drugs are used by athletes, (3) biological mechanism of action, (4) what research says about efficacy in improving performance, (5) major health side effects from use and abuse in sport, and 6) concluding key points. - Presents the scientific concepts of how performance enhancers work, how they are used, and how they are detected and masked from detection - Features language that is neither simplistic to scientists nor too sophisticated for a large, diverse global audience - Provides a short "close-up in each chapter to illustrate key topics that engage, entertain, and create a novel synthesis of thought

Physical activity exerts an important influence on the endocrine system, modulating synthesis and secretion of several hormones. Almost every organ and system in the body is affected by physical activity and exercise, mainly through the endocrine and neuroendocrine system. Mode, intensity, and duration of the exercise bout, age, gender and fitness level of the individual as well as environmental and psychological factors may affect the endocrine response to physical activity. On the other hand, several hormones are able to influence physical performance and body composition. Thus, a bi-univocal interrelationship between exercise and hormones exists. In this book new developments on metabolic and endocrine response to exercise are revised and introduce the "hot topic" of hormonal doping in sports. In the past decades, hormone abuse has become a widespread habit among professional and – most of all and more frequently – recreational athletes. A substantial part of this volume is devoted to the effects of exogenous hormones on performance. Anabolic steroids, growth hormone and erythropoietin properties, use and misuse in sports are widely described. Specific methods to detect hormone abuse are presented and discussed. The contributors to this volume are well-known experts and dedicated researchers in the fields of sports medicine and endocrinology, endocrine physiology, pharmacology, and doping detection. The purpose of this volume is to provide all professionals involved in sports medicine and endocrinology a state-of-the-art overview of the complex interactions between physical activity and the endocrine system and to focus on hormone abuse in sports at competitive and recreational level highlighting its negative consequences for long-term health.

This valuable new addition to the Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine series provides a comprehensive and logical look at the principles and mechanisms of endocrinology as related to sports and exercise. It looks at growth hormone factors involved in exercise and the endocrinology of sport competition. It considers various factors and stresses on the body that may alter sporting performance. It covers topics from the acute responses and chronic adaptations of the human endocrine system to the muscular activity involved in conditioning exercise, physical labor, and sport activities. This book is an essential reference for helping to plan better programs of physical fitness, to prepare for sports competitions, and to manage the medical care of athletes.

Now in its fully revised and expanded third edition, this comprehensive text represents a compilation of the critical endocrinology topics in the areas of sports medicine, kinesiology and exercise science, written by leading experts in the field. As in previous editions, the focus here is on the critical issues involved in understanding human endocrinology and hormonal workings with regards to physical activity, exercise and sport and how such workings impact the full range of medical conditions, overall health and physiological adaptation. Chapters included discuss the effect of exercise on the HPA axis, the GH-IGF-1 axis, thyroid function, diabetes, and the male and female reproductive systems, among other topics. Additional chapters present the current evidence on circadian endocrine physiology, exercise in older adults, exercise and hormone regulation in weight control, and the effects of overtraining in sports. Chapters brand new to this edition present the role of hormones in muscle hypertrophy, the effect of exercise on hormones in metabolic syndrome patients, how exercise impacts appetite-regulating hormones in clinical populations, and the relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) condition.

It is well-established, through extensive peer-reviewed published research, that physical activity and exercise training can impact the reproductive endocrine system of women. This ground-breaking, comprehensive title presents a range of unique insights into the opposite question: how the reproductive endocrine system of women affects their exercise ability. More precisely, the thematic question explored in this work is: if exercise affects reproductive hormones, conversely then could the reproductive hormones have physiological effects unrelated to reproduction that influence the capacity of women to exercise? In exploring this question, the goal is to better understand the unique physiology of women and whether female sex hormones might account for some of the variance in physiological performance between amenorrheic and eumenorrheic women, and within women across the age span as they experience menarche to menopause. Sex Hormones, Exercise and Women: Scientific and Clinical Aspects synthesizes the research by exploring the physiology and psychology behind these occurrences. This novel title will not only be of interest to researchers, exercise scientists, graduate students, and clinicians; it will also serve as a source of valuable information for female athletes and their trainers in the context of preparing for competitions.

Since the observation in the 19th century that an extract of the suprarenal bodies injected into the circulation caused a rise in blood pressure, the endocrine system has become a major component in our understanding of human physiology. The introduction of radioimmunoassay techniques and the ability to measure minimal amounts of hor mones (a term derived from the Greek "to excite") have shown that acute exercise causes a release of a large number of hormones and that chronic exercise may further lead to long-term alterations in endocrine homeostasis. Actually, almost every organ and system in the body is affected by physical activity and exercise, much of it through the endocrine and neuroendocrine system. Investigation ofthe effect of acute or chronic physical activity on the endocrine system is a complex matter since the stimulus called "exercise" has many components, such as mode, intensity, duration, and others. In addition, several other factors, such as age, gender, training status, body temperature, circadian rhythm, metabolic state, menstrual cycle, and various external conditions as well as psychological factors, can modify the effect of physical activity on hormonal secretion. Moreover, the physiol9gical stimulus of exercise often provokes several and parallel cascades of biochemical and endocrine changes. It is therefore often extremely difficult to distinguish between primary and secondary events and between cause and effect. These limitations will be discussed in Chapter 1.

An Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medal Winner A Progressive Book of the Year A TechCrunch Favorite Read of the Year “Deeply researched and thoughtful.” —Nature “An extended exercise in myth busting.” —Outside “A critique of both popular and scientific understandings of the hormone, and how they have been used to explain, or even defend, inequalities of power.” —The Observer Testosterone is a familiar villain, a ready culprit for everything from stock market crashes to the overrepresentation of men in prisons. But your testosterone level doesn’t actually predict your appetite for risk, sex drive, or athletic prowess. It isn’t the biological essence of manliness—in fact, it isn’t even a male sex hormone. So what is it, and how did we come to endow it with such superhuman powers? T’s story begins when scientists first went looking for the chemical essence of masculinity. Over time, it provided a handy rationale for countless behaviors—from the boorish to the enviable. Testosterone focuses on what T does in six domains: reproduction, aggression, risk-taking, power, sports, and parenting, addressing heated debates like whether high-testosterone athletes have a natural advantage as well as disagreements over what it means to be a man or woman. “This subtle, important book forces rethinking not just about one particular hormone but about the way the scientific process is embedded in social context.” —Robert M. Sapolsky, author of Behave “A beautifully written and important book. The authors present strong and persuasive arguments that demythologize and defetishize T as a molecule containing quasi-magical properties, or as exclusively related to masculinity and males.” —Los Angeles Review of Books “Provides fruitful ground for understanding what it means to be human, not as isolated physical bodies but as dynamic social beings.” —Science

This is the first book dedicated to the musculoskeletal, physiological, hormonal, and other differences between the sexes as they manifest in sports medicine. Organized anatomically from head to toe, this unique reference focuses on the sex-specific differences of men and women to inform clinical care and the management of common sports injuries. Other chapters cover nutrition, hormones, concussion, pain, sports cardiology and pulmonology, and the particular care of adolescent and geriatric patients. The editors have assembled a world-class team of specialists to collaborate on each chapter, and specially commissioned illustrations and tables help visualize the data and findings. While some books focus on “the female athlete” as a discrete category, this book discusses how the many physical stresses of athletics affect both sexes based on the inherent biological differences. The goal is to foster a more comprehensive understanding of the latest research and practice in sports medicine as it applies to all patients. As the field of sports medicine has grown exponentially over the last few decades, this book will serve as an essential resource for physicians, trainers, coaches, and anyone involved in athletics and medicine. Key Features: Provides an evidence-based review of how sex differences affect the risk of injury, presentation, and clinical course of sports-related injuries Anatomically based chapters highlight differences in static structures, dynamic movement, and pathology between the sexes Authors summarize key differences at the end of each chapter Includes special chapters on running and throwing, sports cardiology, sports pulmonology, nutrition, and unique athlete populations

This is the first book of its kind to focus solely on the female athlete triad - its origins, its recognition, and most importantly, its management. Since the symptoms themselves cover a range of medical specialties, chapters are written by experts in a number of relevant fields - sports medicine, orthopedics, endocrinology, and pediatrics - with an eye toward overall care of the young female athlete. Additionally, each chapter includes suggestions on how to educate and communicate with young athletes and their parents, as well as trainers and coaches, on how to manage the illness outside of the direct clinical setting. The female athlete triad is often seen in sports where low body weight is emphasized, such as gymnastics, figure skating, and running, though it can appear in any sport or activity. The interrelated symptoms - eating disorders, amenorrhea, and low bone mass - exist on a spectrum of severity and are serious and potentially life-threatening if not properly treated. Psychological problems, in addition to medical ones, are not uncommon. The Female Athlete Triad: A Clinical Guide discusses all of these areas for a well-rounded and in-depth approach to the phenomenon and will be a useful reference for any clinician working with female athletes across the lifespan.