Carmel E. Heiland

1 Introduction Testosterone (T) and erythropoietin (EPO) have been prohibited in sports for decades. Reports and disclosures from athletes suggest a tendency to use low doses of endogenous hormonal substances that are more difficult to detect in doping tests. To detect rhEPO, gel electrophoresis (SAR-PAGE or SDS-PAGE) followed by western blot analyses is performed [1, 2].

1 INTRODUCTION The use of short-acting, first generation, recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) has been reported in sports for improving performance, and several studies have investigated the effects and detection of micro-doses of EPO.1-5 The detection window of rhEPO is dependent on several factors, including dosage, administration site, sample matrix and analytical method sensitivity. Moreover, there may be differences in the detection pattern depending on the type of rhEPO administered.

1 INTRODUCTION Erythropoietin (EPO) is a key hormone for producing new red blood cells. To treat patients with severe anaemia, human EPO produced ex vivo (recombinant EPO [rEPO]) and subsequent EPO-receptor agonists (ERAs; NESP, CERA and EPO-Fc) have been developed over the years and quickly misused by athletes for doping.