Effects of Anabolic Steroids
Scientist were recently amazed at their findings. Being tested were steroids and their effects upon performance.
There was, however, a dramatic improvement in the performance of the athletes taking testosterone. The most unexpected finding was that the greatest increases in muscle size and power occurred just three weeks into the trial (see graph). 
"I'm surprised it worked that quickly," says Cowan. Most professional athletes can expect to be tested from once every two years to as frequently as 20 times a year, depending on the level at which they compete. "In the random testing scenario, it could conceivably make it more likely you could slip through without being detected," he says.
Testing for testosterone is difficult. With synthetic steroids, all you have to do is prove their presence. But because testosterone is a natural hormone, testers usually have to rely on a few tricks.
The standard method is to measure the ratio of the active and inactive forms of testosterone in an individual's urine, called the TE ratio. On average, this ratio is 1. When people are taking testosterone, the TE ratio can rise to 10 or more, and after they stop it can fall below 1, because the body stops making testosterone while people are taking big doses. The time it takes for the TE ratio to return to normal once people come off the hormone depends on the size of the doses and how long they were taken for - it can be several months. Until 2004, the World Anti-Doping Agency, which issues global regulations on drug abuse in sport, only regarded a TE ratio above 6 as suspicious. Last week new regulations came into effect that recommend investigating any abnormal level of testosterone, however low.
The analysis of urine samples from the athletes in the Australian study is not yet complete, but the results of other studies suggest that the TE ratio of people even on this relatively low dose would be high enough for them to be caught out. However, if athletes or coaches have learned by trial and error to use low doses for short periods only, there is less chance of them being caught. Their TE ratios should also return to normal faster, further reducing the chances of detection even under the new testing regime.
Cowan and Ayotte think a complete overhaul of the testing system is due. "What we really need to do is collect data on individual athletes frequently and over a prolonged period of time to build up testosterone profiles, so that we can explain why they have changes and what their normal levels are," says Cowan. "We want to catch the cheats, but we also want to get away from pointing the finger at athletes without any proof."
Drew Voight
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