Have a look at the uses and side effects of the Meldonium drug which is banned in sports
Mykhailo Mudryk, a winger for Chelsea, will be suspended from sport for a long time after testing positive for a prohibited substance. Experts in the field of doping are familiar with the name Meldonium.
According to reports, Mykhailo Mudryk tested positive for Meldonium in October and is awaiting the findings of the “B” sample from the same test. He maintains that he has done nothing wrong and didn’t take the drug knowingly.
The Ukrainian might receive a four-year football ban if convicted, though that punishment will be closely examined in the upcoming weeks and months.
What is the Meldonium drug, its uses, side effects list and why is it banned in sports as Mykhailo Mudryk fails doping test
Eight years ago, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) temporarily suspended Maria Sharapova after she tested positive for meldonium.
1/ Mudryk tested positive for Meldonium – but here's the twist: this substance is as common as aspirin in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia and Ukraine (his home country) 🇺🇦
2/ Looking at historical cases, DOZENS of Eastern European athletes have been caught with meldonium… pic.twitter.com/WauBdPLQOb
— 𝐁𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐇𝐐 🧠 (@BluesBallersHQ) December 17, 2024
After an appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) lowered her 24-month suspension to 15 months. According to the Russian tennis player, she has been using the medication since 2006 to address a persistent health condition.
What is Meldonium?
Developed in 1970 by Ivars Kalviņs at the USSR Latvia Institute of Organic Synthesis, Meldonium is a limited-market medication that is currently produced by the Latvian pharmaceutical business Grindeks and a number of generic manufacturers. As an anti-ischemia drug, it is mostly supplied in Eastern European nations.
It has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of drugs that athletes are prohibited from using since January 1, 2016. As a metabolic modulator, meldonium can alter how some hormones speed up or slow down the body’s enzymatic processes. The usage of it to improve sports performance is up for discussion, though.
When Wada introduced the ban they did not realise the drug stayed in the body for weeks perhaps months after use. Most drugs are cleared from the body within days and this meant many athletes tested positive in January, February and March, despite not using it after the ban.
The data from Wada shows 70 positive tests in 2022, so athletes are still using it and Meldonium is not licensed for use in the UK, US or Europe but is in Russia and Latvia, where it was developed.
Athletes tested positive for meldonium since it got banned in 2016 https://t.co/kxD4KROO8H pic.twitter.com/loTscyeiXe
— Lew (@LewieAshtrey) December 17, 2024
Meldonium is a medicine prescribed for conditions such as angina, when there is reduced blood flow [known as ischaemia] to the heart tissue which causes a reduced delivery of oxygen.
Meldonium is a fatty acid oxidation inhibitor, and it is now principally used for heart conditions, such as angina, heart attack, heart failure, and others and the medication works by altering pathways for carnitine, a nutrient involved in fat metabolism.
Meldonium demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions, according to research published in Drug Testing and Analysis in December 2015.
The most common side effects of the drug include headache, nervousness, dizziness, sleeplessness, allergic symptoms, a fall in blood pressure and tachycardia.