EPO (erythropoietin)

Erythropoietin (EPO) gained notoriety in 1998 when a bunch of cyclists in the Tour de France got caught in possession of it.

EPO increases RBC in the blood. This will basically raise your energy levels (Cancer. 2003 Sep 1;98(5):1072-9), and thus will improve recovery, etc... A50 was developed for a very similar purpose as EPO, and I suspect that a lot of the muscle enhancing effects/potency of A50 (increased muscle fullness, etc...) can be attributed to the much of same mechanisms which are at work in EPO. Its worth noting that EPO increases protein synthesis, just like A50 as well. Primarily, though, its effect is to increase RBCs.

Having more RBCs, thus having more oxygen delivered to muscle tissues is directly associated with a substantial improvement in athletic performance, i.e speed, endurance, strength, etc...(Sports Med. 2003;33(3):187-212.). EPO is associated with improved bodyweight, exercise capacity, oxygen uptake, respiration, whole body metabolism and energy efficiency (Semin Oncol. 2002 Jun;29(3 Suppl 8):69-74) In addition, cognitive function (learning, etc...)is also improved with EPO(Clin Breast Cancer. 2002 Dec;3 Suppl 3:S116-20).

Ok... so how much do you take? I?d say you?ll need about 8,000-10,000IU for 2 weeks. That?s it. You take it all at once over 2 weeks (maybe a little over 1,000IU or so per day for 14 days) and then that?s it. Then, sometime in week 3, you?ll start feeling the results...which will last...for 3-6 months! Yeah, you read that right.

Watch your BP, and don?t let it get out of hand, because that could mean your hematocrit is getting too high... and remember to keep well hydrated to avoid any possible issues with clotting & keep some aspirin on hand just in case you find that you need to thin your blood out a bit.

EPO
Erythropoietin (r-HuEPO)

Outside of steroids and GH, this is probably the most well known performance-enhancing drug in sports today. There are a number of reasons for this.

Firstly, EPO works exceedingly well at improving cardio vascular endurance, more so than probably anything else around, and secondly, it has accounted for an unprecedented number of deaths by users, most of these being professional athletes and in the majority cyclists.

EPO regulates the formation of red blood cells in the body and it does this very well. The benefits here are obvious and the resulting increase in aerobic performance is what earns this drug a 10 of 10 for evicacy. The main problem with EPO is that the dosage from optimum to catastrophic is a very thin line and it varies depending on your physiology.

Most athletes are impressed by how well it works but why get a 10% improvement if you have a 100% improvement potential in your hands. EPO can very quickly change the blood viscosity and causes high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and blood clots. In less serious cases, irregular heartbeat can be observed, along with vomiting or nausea.

To spite all the dangerous, EPO use is still wide spread and people are using it successfully all the time. In bodybuilding there is no use for this drug, but in any endurance sport it is the clear favourite, barring the potential side effects.

EPO is administered in two was, subcutaneous (under the skin) and the much faster acting intravenous method. The last method cause the drug to work very quickly and is usually preferred by athletes that have a good grip on it, but I believe that’s also the most dangerous way of using it, in the case of EPO it is all dangerous just with varying degrees of danger.

Dosage is very very tricky and rages from 10 to 40 IUs/kg bodyweight. The drug is expensive to make so it is expensive to use and hard to get hold of. If you are going to use it make sure you have a firm grasp on all the aspects relating to its use and the monitoring of crucial factors. Drug testing for this substance is still very expensive and chances of you being tested for it in SA is almost certainly nil.