Clenbuterol

Clenbuterol, Spiropent, Ventipulmin,  is a sympathomimetic amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator. People with chronic breathing disorders such as asthma use this as a bronchodilator to make breathing easier. It is most commonly available as the hydrochloride salt clenbuterol hydrochloride.

Human use

Clenbuterol is approved for use in some countries (via prescription only) as a bronchodilator for asthma patients. Recently though, the drug has been publicized for its off-label use as a weight loss drug, similar to usage of other sympathomimetic amines such as ephedrine. It is commonly used as a slimming aid despite lack of sufficient clinical evidence supporting such use.

Legal status

Clenbuterol is not an ingredient of any therapeutic drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is now banned for IOC-tested athletes.

Use as performance-enhancing drug

Clenbuterol has also been used as a performance-enhancing drug. In 2010, a number of athletes were banned after using the drug, including Polish canoeist Adam Seroczynski, British hurdler Callum Priestley and Chinese Olympic judo champion Tong Wen. Three cyclists were also accused of taking the drug. Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador of Spain tested positive for the drug at the 2010 Tour de France. The news came out during the UCI Road Cycling World Championships held in Geelong, Australia. In May, the UCI suspended Italian cyclist Alessandro Colo, and Chinese rider Li Fuyu, a member of Team RadioShack, was suspended after testing positive for the drug during a Belgian race.

American swimmer Jessica Hardy tested positive at the U.S. trials in July 2008. She served a one-year suspension, having claimed she unknowingly took the drug in a contaminated food supplement. Former New York Mets clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski admitted to distributing clenbuterol to dozens of current and former Major League Baseball players and associates in his plea deal.

Polish sprint canoer Adam Seroczyński was disqualified for taking this drug after he finished fourth in the K-2 1000 m event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and Chinese cyclist Li Fuyu tested positive for it at the Dwars door Vlaanderen race in Belgium on March 24, 2010.

In the 2010 Tour de France, Alberto Contador tested positive for clenbuterol. He claims it was due to food contamination, citing the 50 picogram (5 × 10−11 g) per millilitre concentration of the drug in his sample. He was handed a one-year suspension from competition by the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC). On February 14, 2011, Contador was cleared of doping by the Spanish cycling federation, which canceled its January 26 proposal for a one-year ban. Traces of the amine from meat in the diet is regularly turning up in athletes' blood.

In September 2010, St. Louis Cardinals minor league shortstop Lainer Bueno received a 50-game suspension for the 2011 season as a result of testing positive for clenbuterol.

In June 2011, Mexico national soccer team players Francisco Javier Rodriguez, Antonio Naelson, Christian Bermudez, Edgar Duenas, and Guillermo Ochoa tested positive for Clenbuterol.

Effects and dosage

Clenbuterol is a β2 agonist with some structural and pharmacological similarities to epinephrine and salbutamol, but its effects are more potent and longer-lasting as a stimulant and thermogenic drug. It causes an increase in aerobic capacity, central nervous system stimulation, and an increase in blood pressure and oxygen transportation. It increases the rate at which body fat is metabolized, simultaneously increasing the body's BMR. It is commonly used for smooth muscle relaxant properties. This means that it is a bronchodilator and tocolytic. It is usually used in dosages anywhere from 20-60 micrograms a day when prescribed. A dose of about 120 μg should never be exceeded in a day[citation needed]. It is also prescribed for treatment of horses; however, equestrian usage is usually the liquid form of clenbuterol. Clenbuterol is also a sympathomimetic in the peripheral nervous system.

Overdosage

Excessive[clarification needed] usage can cause muscle tremor, headache, dizziness and gastric irritation. Persons self-administering the drug for weight loss or to improve athletic performance have experienced nausea, vomiting, diaphoresis, palpitations, tachycardia and myocardial infarction. Abuse of the drug may be confirmed by detecting its presence in serum or urine.

Food contamination

In September 2006 over 330 people in Shanghai were reported to have been poisoned by eating pork contaminated by clenbuterol that had been fed to the animals to keep their meat lean.

In February 2009, at least 70 people in one Chinese province (Guangdong) suffered food poisoning after eating pig organs believed to contain clenbuterol residue. The victims complained of stomach aches and diarrhea after eating pig organs bought in local markets.

In March 2011, China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said that the government would launch a one-year crackdown on illegal additives in pig feed, after a subsidiary of Shuanghui Group, China's largest meat producer, was exposed for using clenbuterol-contaminated pork in its meat products. A total of 72 people in central Henan Province, where Shuanghui is based, were taken into police custody for allegedly producing, selling or using clenbuterol.