FDA Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, the agent who has become the face of the federal government witch-hunt against steroid users in professional sports during the BALCO scandal, has move his attention to investigating dietary supplement companies suspected of selling designer anabolic steroids.
Novitzky’s latest steroid investigation targeted two popular products sold and marketed as dietary supplements, “Tren Xtreme” and “Mass Xtreme”. These products were manufactured by American Cellular Labs Inc. (ACL) and sold exclusively through Max Muscle Sports Nutrition (MMSN) stores and via the ACL website (”Two Dietary Supplements Said to Contain Steroids,” July 23).
The exact nature of the business relationship between ACL and MMSN is unclear. Maurice Sandoval, the owner of the Max Muscle San Francisco franchise and the Regional Marketing Director for Max Muscle, was identified as the chief executive of ACL in a government affidavit. Sandoval told the New York Times that he sold ACL in 2008. ACL, Max Muscle San Francisco, and Sandoval’s residence were targets of search warrants executed on July 23, 2009.
The FDA investigation did not involve any steroid contaminants or undisclosed anabolic steroids. Federal investigators specifically targeted the openly listed ingredients in Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme commonly referred to as “Tren” and “Madol”, respectively. Read more
A federal government investigation into anabolic steroid use in professional football appears imminent after court documents acknowledge that former NFL player Dana Stubblefield has provided “substantial cooperation” that includes the names of football players and trainers involved in “ongoing” anabolic steroid use and distribution. United States District Judge Susan Illston sentenced Stubblefield to two years straight probation consistent with the prosecutors’ recommendations for leniency (”Stubblefield cooperating in feds’ probe,” February 6).
The federal investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) has primarily targeted professional baseball and Olympic track and field athletes. The potential next phase of the BALCO investigation may include a steroid witch-hunt in the National Football League (NFL) as the government considers how to act on the information provided by Stubblefield. The government’s February 2, 2009 sentencing memorandum in the case of United States v. Dana Stubblefield describes the nature of the information:
“Stubblefield further agreed to discuss his observations of illegal drug use in the National Football League, and provided a description of his knowledge regarding the distribution and use of illegal steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in the National Football League, providing the names of players, trainers, and others associated with the NFL who may be involved in ongoing activities with illegal drugs in professional football. The NFL has interviewed Stubblefield and is continuing to follow up on the information he has provided. Throughout the process, Stubblefield has remained available to law enforcement and the NFL as a resource with respect to these matters.”
BALCO’s Victor Conte provides a detailed outline of performance enhancing drugs for elite level (sprint) track athletes in a letter written to Dwain Chambers entitled “Improving UK Sport’s Anti-doping Policies and Procedures.”
Victor Conte’s letter details how elite track athletes can used performance enhancing drugs to maximize performance with precise dosing and timing for each ergogenic drug.
1. THG (Tetrahydrogestrinone)
THG is a previously undetectable designer steroid nicknamed “the clear.” It was primarily used in the off season and was taken two days per week, typically on Mondays and Wednesdays. Generally, these were the two most intense weight-training days of the week. The purpose was to accelerate healing and tissue repair. Thirty units (IU) of the liquid was place under the tongue during the morning time-frame. THG was used in cycles of “three weeks on and one week off.”
2. Testosterone / Epitestosterone Cream
Testosterone/epitestosterone cream was also primarily used during the off season. It was rubbed into the skin on the front of the forearm two days per week, typically Tuesdays and Thursdays. The dosage was ½ gram which contained 50mg of testosterone and 2.5mg of epitestosterone (20 to 1 ratio). The purpose was to offset the suppression of endogenous testosterone caused by the use of the THG and to accelerate recovery. The testosterone/epitestosterone cream was also used in cycles of three weeks on and one week off.
3. Procrit (EPO or Erythropoietin)
EPO was used three days per week during the “corrective phase”, which is the first two weeks of a cycle. Typically, it was on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It was only used once per week during the “maintenance phase” thereafter, typically this was every Wednesday. The dosage was 4,000 IU per injection. The purpose was to increase the red blood cell count and enhance oxygen uptake and utilization. This substance provides a big advantage to sprinters because it enables them to do more track repetitions and obtain a much deeper training load during the off season. EPO becomes undetectable about 72 hours after subcutaneous injection (stomach) and only 24 hours after intravenous injection.
4. Serostim (HGH or Human Growth Hormone)
HGH was used three nights per week, typically on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each injection would contain 4.5 units of growth hormone. Once again, this substance was used primarily during the off season to help with recovery from very strenuous weight training sessions.
Insulin was used after strenuous weight training sessions during the off season. Three units of Humalog (fast-acting insulin) were injected immediately after the workout sessions together with a powdered drink that contained 30 grams of dextrose, 30 grams of whey protein isolates and 3 grams of creatine. The purpose was to quickly replenish glycogen, resynthesize ATP and promote protein synthesis and muscle growth. Insulin acts as a “shuttle system” in the transport of glucose and branch chain amino acids. There is no test available for insulin at this time.
6. Provigil (Modafinil)
Modafinil was used as a “wakefulness promoting” agent before competitions. The purpose was to decrease fatigue and enhance mental alertness and reaction time. A 200mg tablet was consumed one hour before competition.
7. Cytomel (T3 or Liothryonine)
Liothryonine was used help accelerate the basic metabolic rate before competitions. The purpose was to reduce sluggishness and increase quickness. Two 25mg tablets were taken one hour before competition. There is no test available for liothryonine at this time.
Patrick Arnold’s ex-girlfriend, Kelcey Dalton, testified as a witness in cyclist Tammy Thomas steroid case. She told the court that Patrick Arnold (of Ergopharm) made very little profit from the sell of performance enhancing drugs (which were classified as “unapproved new drugs” prior to the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004) ["Witness: Little Profit for Steroid Maker," March 27].
The sums of money Arnold was making were “very low,” she said. “I think we should have charged more.”
Pat confirmed via email that he only made $15-20 thousand over the course of the THREE YEARS he provided tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) and norbolethone to elite athletes while working with Victor Conte. The government calls a $5,000 a year operation a major steroid bust?!
Steroid chemist Patrick Arnold of Ergopharm testified in San Francisco federal court today in the perjury case against cyclist Tammy Thomas. Pat Arnold said under oath that THG was explicitly created to avoid detection by athletes subject to doping controls. He admitted to selling tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) to Victor Conte of BALCO and directly by mail to Tammy Thomas. (”Chemist testifies he created steroid at the heart of BALCO scandal,” March 25)
THG was also known as “the clear” because it was not detectable at the time Arnold developed it in about 2001.
Under questioning by prosecutor Jeff Nedrow, Arnold said, “That’s the primary reason why THG was developed.”
Arnold also said, “I believe that Miss Thomas understood full well it was undetectable and that that was its purpose.”
He said he believed the cyclist understood the drug had “steroid-like qualities.”
Tammy Thomas denied ever receiving any products from Pat Arnold other than Ergopharm 1-AD; she denied receiving anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs from Pat Arnold or anyone else; she denied using anabolic steroids.
The Mitchell Report acknowledged that current steroid education programs used by Major League Baseball that focus on the dangerous side effects of anabolic steroids are generally ineffective:
[T]hese health risks… generally will not deter a player from using these substances. This is because players who use or are considering using performance enhancing substances do not consider them dangerous if used properly. This view is reinforced when players see that other players who they know are using performance enhancing substances arc not experiencing the adverse health effects described in the educational materials.
With the widespread use of steroids by baseball players and the lack of significant negative side effects, it is not surprising that scare tactics using overstated and exaggerated dangers of steroids are unsuccessful at steroid prevention in baseball.
But Senator Mitchell’s proposed solution to restore credibility to steroid education programs seems like a disaster. The Mitchell Report proposes offering “education on alternative methods to achieve the same results.”
[W]hile it is important to educate players about the dangers of performance enhancing substances, it is just as important to educate them on how to achieve the same results through proper training, nutrition, and supplements that are legal and safe.
So, all baseball players need is a creative chemist who can discover or synthesize a legal supplement [that complies with Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA)] with steroid-like effects. This legal supplement will be considered safe since newly introduced supplements are assumed to be safe under DSHEA unless proven otherwise by the FDA.
And the baseball player will have a legal and safe supplement to use.
This is the recommendation of the Mitchell Report?
But isn’t that what started the whole steroids in baseball scandal? THG redux.
