| This month, some of the favorites to win the | | | | bodies produce special proteins called |
| Tour de France endurance bicycle race were | | | | antibodies that attach to EPO. The |
| prevented from entering because of suspicion | | | | antibodies are put on a special plate, and |
| that they may have taken drugs or had blood | | | | the test urine is added. If the urine |
| transfusions to raise their red blood cell | | | | contains EPO, a band consisting of the |
| counts. That brings up the accusation that | | | | antibody tied to the EPO appears on the |
| Lance Armstrong, possibly the most dominant | | | | special plate. |
| endurance bicycle racer of all time, took | | | | |
| blood boosting drugs when he won the first of | | | | Researchers at Catholic University of Leuven |
| his seven Tour De France victories. | | | | in Belgium showed that "this widely used test |
| | | | can occasionally lead to the false-positive |
| The allegation is that Lance Armstrong's | | | | detection of EPO in postexercise, |
| urine, kept in storage for six years, had a | | | | protein-rich urine." Any athlete can have a |
| positive test for EPO, a restricted drug that | | | | false positive test with this procedure. Most |
| raises blood levels of oxygen-carrying and | | | | people with healthy kidneys do not spill |
| performance-enhancing hemoglobin. An | | | | protein in their urine, but after strenuous |
| article published in this month's issue of | | | | exercise, athletes with normal kidneys often |
| the prestigious medical journal, Blood (June | | | | spill protein into their urine. For example, |
| 15, 2006) shows that after competing in any | | | | more than 80 percent of runners spilled |
| athletic event, any athlete could have a | | | | protein into their urines after running the |
| false positive urine test for EPO. | | | | Boston Marathon. The authors state that the |
| | | | antibodies that are used in the test can |
| The test for EPO is done by injecting the | | | | attach to any protein in the urine, not just |
| protein, EPO, into animals so that their | | | | EPO. |