swan42 wrote:
Dirty Weekender wrote: A little info to quickly summarise what you guys are talking about here....
Regardless of what you may have heard in the locker room, peptides are not steroids. Peptides are made up of amino acids just like any other protein. Steroids (anabolic/contraceptive/anti-inflammatory) are hormones too but it’s practically just a coincidence that a very small group of peptides causes anabolic effects like “steroids” do. The associated risk in peptide therapies is theorised to be much lower than that of testosterone-derived (anabolic) steroids.
AOD-9604 was developed by researchers to combat obesity by increasing metabolic breakdown of stored fats and is likely to possess therapeutic potential in Australia’s fight to combat the obesity epidemic. These peptide hormones are being developed not only to improve body composition but to restore insulin sensitivity – the key pathology implicated in the onset of type-II diabetes.
AOD964 is now a legal food supplement in the US so can only assume the Yanks will start dropping dead in the streets on mass after reading what Caro has said about this deadly drug. The medical profession say Thymosin TB4 is "safer than caffeine" in reality so even if it was administered any negative long term health issues for the players are highly unlikely from this substance....although severe long term mental health issues may result from the consequences and sanctions they will face if they were administered this banned peptide, not that they believe they were nor have they been presented any evidence or information to the contrary.
DW certainly Dr Peter Larkins indicated that peptides were used now as an alternative to steroids. Secondly, with respect to the Essendon players, it would appear that the claim is that even though it has not been possible to identify what they were injected with, none of it was illegal.
It would appear that what Essendon Football Club is trying to do is to prevent any of the evidence gathered to be used against their players and seemingly have little consideration for the long term possible health consequences to the players. They want it dead and buried on a legal technicality.
Very few people will come out of this with their reputation in tact and in some case it will be in tatters.
Finally, there has been a lot written about whether this was a "dark day" for sport in Australia as espoused in the media conference or whether it was a diversionary tactic by the previous government. Given the impact it has had on Cronulla and the sullying of the reputations of Essendon club and players, the AFL and James Hird, you would be hard pressed to argue that it is indeed extremely bad for Australian sport. Also, I would expect that the Essendon and Cronulla Football Clubs should be responsible for financing a long term study of the health of those players affected for the rest of their lives.
Not saying I agree with the use of any of these peptides swan42 and if they have been administered the banned version TB4 knowingly or unknowingly then a ban from competition is warranted. What I don't agree with is people with absolutely no scientific knowledge of these substances using their privileged positions in the media to talk up and write about how much danger the players future healths are in. They have no idea what they are talking about and will write about it from whatever angle suits their story of the day. Leave that to the doctors who can provide detailed and best medical advice to the players and not scare mongering witches like Caro Wilson & Patrick Smith who will write whatever agenda the AFL ask of them on any given day to achieve their pre-determined outcomes. The players have been through enough and don't need to be picking up the paper in the morning and reading articles written with no substance whatsoever that contradict the advice they have been receiving from the medical profession. The media have a responsibility to report truthful information in situations like this, not what ifs & maybes that suit their and in many cases the AFL's agenda which is evident when considering why all media leaks have come directly through AFL accredited media fraternity. You only have to watch Tim Watson's reactions, as a father of one of the players, to understand how much impact this falsehood reporting has had on players & their families. His disgust towards Caro & Smith with regards to the scare mongering reporting tells me what I need to know.
Forgetting for a moment the WADA side of this argument and considering health risks only...what I can observe after reading up on this stuff is that the peptides in question are naturally occurring in the body. TB4 is evident in high doses in the platelets of our blood and my understanding is it has anti inflammatory properties which aid cell repair and is why doctors regard it to be safer than caffeine. Thymodulin Alpha is directly related and has much the same properties although much milder when administered in peptide form. AOD is a substance considered for weight loss and has been recently approved for human use in doses of 1mg per day in foods, drinks and dietary supplements without further need for pre market approval. It is considered safe. Furthermore, there is no evidence that AOD-9604 dosing increases the number of muscle or cartilage cells. It happened in mice but not in humans as our receptors react differently. In other words it is not a growth hormone. It is known to have potential negative effects for the foetus of pregnant women so one can only hope Dank was administering this peptide himself.
One last thing I want to add....the AFL fixtured Ess v Collingwood to back up for an Anzac Day game with only a 4 day break. This is the period in which Beta 4 is alleged to have been administered by Dank. I'm not sure if you remember the game but it is the worst game of AFL footy I have ever witnessed. Players were out on their feet in the 1st qtr and the match was played at a snail's pace. If the AFL really want to avoid these types of substances being explored in future then they must be more reasonable & responsible with fixturing as their part of the bargain. A 4 day break between games played at this level is ridiculous, is dangerously unfair on players health recovery and sustainability, let alone having a serious negative impact on the product itself. All of these issues must be assumed as an AFL responisibility and not just left at the clubs front door. I read months ago that TB4 needs to be administered consistently over many weeks before potential benefits are gained so one can only assume that ASADA's evidence will show this up against a one off shot during a short week as there would be no point. The noise coming out of Essendon is they used the legal Thymodulin Alpha, more than one player correctly identified this vial from their storage fridge, one would hope the evidence is damning if they have any to the contrary.
And for the record, though not being deemed as banned, I do not condone the club's use of AOD with the players. To me this is where they have overstepped the mark with responsibility to the players and their health. By all reports it will be fine, but at the time that information could not have been known and that alone is why heads had to roll or suspensions given. Lets hope the club and the AFL as a whole have learnt their lesson with regards to employing sports scientists without first understanding what they are inviting through the front door. The fact that they are termed as scientists should have none of us shocked that they will perform experiments at times. A scientist who does not perform experiments is by very definition not a scientist.
