Clostebol, found in trace amounts in the analysis of tennis player Jannik Sinner, is an anabolic steroid derived from testosterone, reported as a doping substance. In fact, it has the function of increasing muscle mass and improving physical performance. In this sense, its use in the past by athletes from the former East Germany is well known. The very limited quantities found in Sinner’s analysis would be linked to the use of a drug in ointment by his physiotherapist who would then have contaminated the tennis player through the skin, according to investigations by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (Itia). The molecule, in fact, is contained in some healing medicines in ointment or spray and is highly absorbable by the body.
Clostebol, explains to Adnkronos Salute the pharmacologist Silvio Garattini, founder of the Mario Negri Institute in Milan, “is a testosterone that can increase muscle mass but certainly not if used cutaneously. If an ointment is under accusation, it is more than evident that the doping intention is not there.. Different doses and preparations are needed for doping. We are talking about a substance that was certainly used in the past and is still one of the many testosterone derivatives used by dishonest athletes”.
In doping “as far as testosterone is concerned, the issue of the administration route is fundamental – continues Garattini – because it is what determines the success of the use. The oral or injectable use can have effects. But if used cutaneously it cannot determine much. The cutaneous route would make no sense. In this context the outcome of the anti-doping investigation was a foregone conclusion”, concludes Garattini.
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