The occurrence of non-anatomical therapeutic chemical-international nonproprietary name molecules in suspected illegal or illegally traded health products in Europe: A retrospective and prospective study.

The General European Official Medicines Control Laboratory (OMCL) Network (GEON), co-ordinated by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), regularly organises market surveillance studies on specific categories of suspected illegal or illegally traded products. These studies are generally based on a combination of retrospective and prospective data collection over a defined period of time. This paper reports the results of the most recent study in this context with the focus on health products containing non-Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical-International Nonproprietary Name (ATC-INN) molecules. In total 1104 cases were reported by 16 countries for the period between January 2017 and the end of September 2019. The vast majority of these samples (83%) were collected from the illegal market, while only 3% originated from a legal source. For the rest of the samples, categorisation was not possible. Moreover, 69% of all the reported samples were presented as medicines, including sexual performance enhancers, sports performance enhancers, physical performance enhancers and cognitive enhancers or nootropic molecules that act on the central nervous system (CNS). Although the popularity of anabolics, PDE-5 inhibitors and CNS drugs in illegal products has already been reported, the study showed some new trends and challenges. Indeed, 11% of the samples contained molecules of biological origin, that is, research peptides, representing the second most reported category in this study. Furthermore, the study also clearly shows the increasing popularity of Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators and nootropics, two categories that need attention and should be further monitored.

Impact of contextual factors and substance characteristics on perspectives toward cognitive enhancement.

Enhancing cognitive performance with substances--especially prescription drugs--is a fiercely debated topic among scholars and in the media. The empirical basis for these discussions is limited, given that the actual nature of factors that influence the acceptability of and willingness to use cognitive enhancement substances remains unclear. In an online factorial survey, contextual and substance-specific characteristics of substances that improve academic performance were varied experimentally and presented to respondents. Students in four German universities rated their willingness to use and moral acceptance of different substances for cognitive enhancement. We found that the overall willingness to use performance enhancing substances is low. Most respondents considered the use of these substances as morally unacceptable. Situational influences such as peer pressure, policies concerning substance use, relative performance level of peers, but also characteristics of the substance, such as perceptions of substance safety, shape the willingness and acceptability of using a substance to enhance academic performance. Among the findings is evidence of a contagion effect meaning that the willingness was higher when the respondents have more CE drug users in their social network. We also found deterrence effects from strong side effects of using the substance, as well as from policy regulations and sanctions. Regulations might activate social norms against usage and sanctions can be seen as costly to users. Moreover, enhancement substances seem to be most tempting to low performers to catch up with others compared to high performers. By identifying contextual factors and substance characteristics influencing the willingness and acceptability of cognitive enhancers, policy approaches could consider these insights to better manage the use of such substances.

Isotope ratio mass spectrometry - history and terminology in brief.

The history of isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) is briefly described. It is shown that the fundamental design of isotope ratio mass spectrometers has not changed since the 1940s. The basic findings concerning the natural variation of isotope abundances even date back to the 1930s. Recent improvements in the methodology mainly concern online coupling and analytical peripherals. The nature of isotopic scales necessitates a specific terminology which is unfamiliar to many analysts. However, corresponding guidelines exist that should be adopted by the anti-doping community. Currently, steroids represent the only group of compounds routinely analyzed by IRMS in doping-control. Suggestions are made in respect to a harmonized terminology concerning the nature and origins of steroids.

Annual banned-substance review: analytical approaches in human sports drug testing.

International anti-doping efforts are harmonized and regulated under the umbrella of the World Anti-Doping Code and the corresponding Prohibited List, issued annually by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The necessity for a frequent and timely update of the Prohibited List (as the result of a comprehensive consultation process and subsequent consensual agreement by expert panels regarding substances and methods of performance manipulation in sports) is due to the constantly growing market of emerging therapeutics and thus new options for cheating athletes to illicitly enhance performance. In addition, 'tailor-made' substances arguably designed to undermine sports drug testing procedures are considered and the potential of established drugs to represent a doping substance is revisited in light of recently generated information. The purpose of the annual banned substance review is to support doping controls by reporting emerging and advancing methods dedicated to the detection of known and recently outlawed substances. This review surveys new and/or enhanced procedures and techniques of doping analysis together with information relevant to doping controls that has been published in the literature between October 2010 and September 2011.

The list of prohibited substances and methods in sport: structure and review process by the world anti-doping agency.

The List of Prohibited Substances and Methods (the List) is the International Standard that determines what is prohibited in sport in- and out-of-competition. The official text of the List is produced by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the international independent organization responsible for promoting, coordinating and monitoring the fight against doping in sport. The drafting of the annual List is a highly interactive and consultative process involving scientific and medical experts in anti-doping, sport federations and governments. In this article, the elements that compose the List as well as the process behind its annual revision and update are presented.