New test to crack down on growth hormone misuse

A new test designed to identify growth hormone misuse in sport has been developed by scientists at King's, the University of Southampton and University of Kent at Canterbury. Used for the first time at the anti-doping laboratory for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, operated by King's, the new test was responsible for identifying two powerlifters at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, who tested positive for growth hormones and subsequently received two-year suspensions. The new method is able to detect misuse of human growth hormones over a number of weeks, compared to previous methods used which only detected use over a shorter time period. The test was developed over the last ten years, funded by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the US Anti-Doping Agency, with support from UK Anti-Doping. It is based on the measurement of two proteins in the blood - insulin-like growth factor-I and the amino terminal pro-peptide of type III collagen. Both of these proteins, which act as markers of growth hormone use, increase in response to growth hormone. Professor David Cowan, Head of the Drug Control Centre at King's and Director of the anti-doping laboratory for the London 2012 Games, said: 'These findings prove that the years of research have been worthwhile.