Source: Langrenn.com
It was made public last week that French skier Vincent Vittoz’s A-test from the World Cup races in Nove Mesto was positive. Norwegian National team doctor Hans Petter Stokke thinks that it’s strange that someone is testing positive for Furosemide, which Vittoz’s test showed traces of.
See Fasterskier.com’s story on Thursday February 3, 2005 Vincent Vittoz Tests Positive For Doping http://www.fasterskier.com/news1875.html for background information.
Furosemide, a ‘water pill’, also known as Lasix, is a diuretic that has been around for years. It is commonly prescribed for patients with heart disease and other ailments to help with water excretion says Stokke.
The substance has no performance enhancing effect, but can be used to hide other substances.
It has especially been used to hide the use of anabolic steroids.
Have any cross country skiers ever been caught for using steroids?
– Not to my knowledge, it would at least be very strange in the middle of the winter. It could be that some would use anabolic steroids in a muscle developing period in the summer. But to use steroids in the middle of the winter doesn’t make sense.
Furosemide can however also hide other central stimulating substances, says Stokke.
– The substance is commonly known and easy to trace, making it easy to find in doping tests.
Can this substance be compared to Hemohes, which also could hide other substances, and which the Finnish skiers were caught for during Lathi Worlds?
-No Hemohes is used to thin the blood if you have too high of a blood value, and to hide for example the use of EPO, while Furosemide increases water excretion and can [only] hide central stimulating substances.
Does this mean that Furosemide can’t hide EPO or blood-doping?
– Yes, that is correct. It can’t.
Editor’s Note: Go to Google and type in the words: Lasix and performance. You will find a lot of information on its use in horse racing where it is commonly used as a doping method.
