Inhaled ß2 agonist drugs used to treat asthma do not exert ergogenic effects and should be taken off the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list. That’s the key message of a new German study set up to review the literature on the effects of these drugs in non-asthmatic competitive athletes and to assess their performance-enhancing effects.
The researchers found 20 high quality studies (randomised controlled trials) that addressed the effects of inhaled ß2 agonists on physical performance in athletes with documented normal resting lung function. Eighteen of these studies included endurance athletes, one looked at power athletes and one involved recreational subjects. In most of these studies, the drugs were inhaled 15-30 minutes before starting exercise.
Ergogenic effects were demonstrated in only three of these studies, but all of these had design problems, which make their results not completely reliable.
‘Altogether’, the researchers conclude, ‘inhaled ß2 agonists do not seem to affect physical performance in non-asthmatic competitive athletes. In addition, there is no evidence for anabolic effects of [these drugs].’
At present, athletes with chronic or exercise-induced asthma have to prove their illness to a medical committee of their ruling body and wait for the grant of a ‘therapeutic use exception’ (TUE) before they can start treatment.
The researchers comment: ‘Obviously, the administrative burden for acquiring permission to use inhaled ß2 agonists is substantial. The limited financial and human resources of the fight against doping may be better focused on substances and methods which have a proved performance enhancing effect and, therefore, a much larger potential to elicit unfair competition…’