A test for the presence of human Growth Hormone (hGH), developed by a team of researchers from Southampton and two other universities, has been successfully applied to catch cheating athletes in global competition.
On 8 September 2012, the International Paralympic Committee announced that two powerlifters from the Summer Olympic Games had received two year suspensions for Anti-Doping Rule Violations involving Growth Hormone following an adverse laboratory finding using the new markers test.
The test – the first to detect human growth hormone use over many weeks – measures two proteins in the blood, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and the amino terminal pro-peptide of type III collagen (P-III-NP) which increase in response to growth hormone. Richard Holt, Professor in Diabetes and Endocrinology at Southampton, has led the team, known as GH-2004, over the last 10 years with funding from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and USA Anti-Doping Agency and support from UK Anti-Doping.
“We are pleased to have another effective and reliable means to catch cheats and help deter harmful drug misuse,” said Richard, “There has been a tremendous amount of team work to develop this test and I am delighted that this dedication has finally succeeded.”
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