Drugs in sports-antidoping control, and WADA regulations
Theory: 2 hours/week | Tutorials: 2 hours/week | ECTS Units: 3
Tutoring in the English language is offered to Erasmus students
Learning Outcomes
Following the completion of the course:
- the students will learn the regulations of the World Antidoping Agency (WADA) according to which an athlete is considered a user of prohibited substances. In addition, they will comprehend the biological action of the prohibited substances as well as methods according to the World Antidoping Code established by WADA. Furthermore, they will deploy the knowledge from courses such as Biochemistry, Physiology, Pharmacology, Signal Transduction and Nutrition to comprehend the way of action of the prohibited substances and methods as defined by WADA. The students will also become informed about the analytical techniques and methods that are applied for the detection of the prohibited substances and methods in biological material obtained from athletes. Finally, the course will delve into the impact of antioxidant substances and food supplements on athletic performance offering concurrently, the basic knowledge on the relevant fields of redox biology and exercise biochemistry.
- the students will also obtain the necessary knowledge and skills to continue their studies in postgraduate and PhD levels in Exercise Biochemistry or other relevant fields.
- they will be able to seek research studies from the international literature by using the most established search engines (e.g., Pubmed).
- they will develop the ability to publicly present a scientific article, which is relevant to the research field of the course.
Analytical Description of the Course
- Introduction in doping.
- Doping and athletic ideal – Historical review.
- The World Antidoping Code and the regulations of WADA.
- Prohibited substances according to the Prohibited List of WADA.
- Prohibited methods according to the Prohibited List of WADA.
- Procedure of blood and urine collection from athletes for antidoping control.
- Detection techniques of prohibited substances and methods.
- Antioxidants, free radicals and athletic performance – Basic knowledge of redox biology and reference to relative publications.
- Food supplements and athletic performance.
- Pedagogical extensions of sports.
Student Performance Evaluation
The performance of the students is evaluated through a public presentation of an article which is relative to the scope of the course (50%) and through a written report based on the presented article (50%). All student grades are uploaded to the eclass electronic platform.
Suggested Bibliography
- Drugs in Sport. Edited By David R Mottram, Neil Chester. Routledge, 8th Edition, 2022.
- Mamrack MD. Exercise and Sport Pharmacology, Taylor and Francis, 2020.
- Rabin O, Pitsiladis Y. Acute Topics in Anti-Doping, Karger, 2017.
Teaching Material / E-class
Lecturers
Dimitrios Kouretas (Course Coordinator)
Aristidis Veskoukis
Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Thessaly
