A new anti-doping method has been invented which will allow regulatory bodies to carry out tests which are anything between 10 to 10,000 times more sensitive than the current methods. This essentially means that we can now find out if someone has taken steroids in the past few years, instead of past few weeks. This new method has not yet been fully validated but if it is, it will likely change the face of a number of sports, MMA included. Interesting…
Dr Daniel Armstrong led the team who created the method, called Paired Ion Electrospray Ionisation (PIESI), which builds on the mass spectrometry technique currently used. Essentially, particles of anything we put into our bodies can be left behind for many years, and can be atomically weighed if detected. However some particles are just too small for current methods to detect. PIESI works by using a binding agent to stick these smaller particles together, forming a bigger area which we can detect.
While it won’t work with blood samples or detect Human Growth Hormone (HGH), it will certainly detect if someone has used banned stimulants or steroids, including the types of painkillers that Thiago Silva was likely taking when he submitted non-human urine for his pee test. I don’t know about you guys but I’m definitely keen to hear if this new method will be picked up by the various state athletic commissions and to what extent previous use will have to be declared.
For example, will they be allowed to (or want to) disclose information that a certain fighter HAD used banned substances in the past but no longer did? It would certainly make people who use banned substances on a cycle to avoid testing regulations think twice if we could detect previous use in the past few years.
And yes, it will work for marijuana as well. [Source]
