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Pharmacology and Sport; Sport Pharmacology in the Soviet Union
Morris Silber
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Washington State University,
Pullman, WA
USA
(Formerly, Institute of Physical Culture, Lenningrad, USSR)
Pharmacology (Pharmacon, Greek - medicinal, Logos, Greek - study) is a branch of natural sciences which studies the action of chemical compounds on living organisms. Pharmacology mainly studies the effects of chemical substances employed for treatment and prevention of various diseases and pathological conditions. One of the most important tasks of pharmacology consists of search for new effective medicines and chemical compounds to prevent illness.
The range of pharmacological studies is very wide. Studies include the effects of chemical compounds on biological systems (total body to subcellular structures), subcellular metabolism, and regulation of biological systems by receptors and enzymes.
Pharmacology is closely related to theoretical and practical medicine and has significantly influenced the development of several biomedical disciplines, particularly physiology and biochemistry. For example, the mechanism of the synaptic transmission produced by acetylcholine and norepinephrine have been discovered through the use of vegeto-tropic substances. Development and production of agents that block certain enzymes or accelerate their synthesis had stimulated advances in enzymology. Several of the complex functions of the central nervous system have been discovered through the use of psychotropic substances. In experimental medicine, pharmacological substances are important because they control various biochemical and physiological processes.
Pharmacology has been particularly important for practical medicine. A wide spectrum of highly effective medicines, has revolutionized the treatment of most diseases. Pharmacological preparations are used to inhibit or stimulate the central and peripheral nervous systems, increase or decrease blood pressure, stimulate cardiac output and pulmonary activity, regulate blood cell production, and modify blood coagulation and metabolic processes. Antimicrobial and an***arasite medicines, now commonly used to treat and prevent infectious diseases. Pharmacologic agents are widely used and are essential in practical medicine.
Progress in pharmacology has greatly affected the development of clinical medicine. The discovery of narcotics, anesthetics, curaremimetc agents and ganglioblockers has stimulated progress in surgery. Psychotropic substances have led to progress in psychiatry. Isolation and synthesis of hormones has considerably improved the diagnosis and treatment of patients with endocrine disorders. Effective treatment of infectious diseases became possible only after the introduction of antibiotics and sulfanilamides. Organ transplantation surgery has become possible only after obtaining immunodepressive medicines. Table 1 outlines the primary role of pharmacology in the development of medicine.
Because of the important role of pharmacotherapy to practical medicine, medical doctors of any specialty must have strong knowledge in pharmacology. Modern medicines have very high biological activity. Any tiny imprecision in their prescription might cause considerable negative effect on the patient's condition.
The most important task of pharmacology research consists of searching for new medicines. The process involves chemical synthesis and isolation (extraction) of natural compounds from plants, animal tissues and minerals. For example, studies might involve extraction of natural metabolites in yeasts and microorganisms. These sources contain almost every chemical compound found in man and have vast pharmacological potential. The search, screening and testing of new medicines is based on close cooperation of a multi-disciplinary team of experts, including pharmacologists, chemists, systematic botanist or zoologist, biochemist, molecular biologist and physicians. The intermediate position of pharmacology within theoretical and practical medicine explains the variety of scientific problems considered by pharmacology.
History
The history of pharmacology is as old as human kind (Table 1). Developments in pharmacology tended to occur during periods of rapid socioeconomic change. In primitive societies, plants served as medicines. Primitive people observed and mimicked the behavior of animals or discovered some curable properties of plants by accident. This period in pharmacology is commonly called the empirical period. Gradually, healing became the privilege of clergyman, who attributed the power of medicines to divine strength. This time is known as empirical-mystical period. During the feudal period, which coincided with a general decline in science and culture, progress in pharmacology and medicine ground to a halt. Medical art was in the domain of monks who preached scholasticism, a religious-idealistic philosophy of the Middle Ages. The effects of medicines were related to the position of the moon, constellations and planets. Astrology became an integral part of medicine, and alchemy grew very popular. This period of the history of medicine and pharmacology is usually referred to as religious-scholastic.
Pharmacology as a science began with the formation of large nation states and significant economic development of the 18th and 19th century. First, experimental methodology was introduced for the analysis and the determination of action of medicinal preparations. Extraction technique were developed, which, for example, allowed pharmacologists to obtain alkaloids from various plants. Pharmacology was particularly advanced with the development of synthetic preparations. These development gradually led to the formation of the chemical-pharmaceutical industry.
Pharmacology is usually subdivided into general and specialized. General pharmacology investigates the gross action of medicines. Special pharmacology deals with concrete pharmacological groups and individual preparations. The most attention in both subdivisions is given to pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the medicinal preparations. Pharmacokinetics is a part of pharmacology studying absorption, distribution in the body, metabolism and excretion of the medicine (fig. 1). Pharmacodynamics provides information about the effects of individual medicines and also their mechanism of action and localization. The effect of medicine results from its interaction with the organism. That is why pharmacological research is multidisciplinary. Pharmacology also involves the study of toxic and negative side effects of the medicines.
As discussed, pharmacology is involved in the treatment and prevention of various pathological conditions. During the last few decades, the pharmacology of health - pharmacosanation — has been developed into an independent subdivision of the applied pharmacology A pioneer in this area was Soviet pharmacologist, Israel Breckman (1980). Pharmacosanation is the study of the action of biologically active substances entering a healthy body in the form of food or medicines that prevent illness, increase resistance to various adverse factors, and enhance recovery from biological stressors. (Breckman, 1982).
Originally, the concept of pharmacosanation came from the science of health, or valeology (from the Latin word "valeo" meaning "I am well", "I am fit".) But very soon it became integrated into sports medicine. Known in the Soviet Union as sports pharmacology, its development was an important part of the sports achievement of athletes from the USSR and the East Bloc sports superpowers, East Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria.
The development of sports pharmacosanation occurred for many reasons. Besides the social and political motives, its appearance was a progressive step in the separation of preventative and treatment pharmacology. Competitive athletes are subject to many hardships — strenuous work, injuries, cold and heat, thirst and fatigue, and emotional stress. These stresses can lead to immunosuppression and illness. Sports pharmacology pharmacosanation has proven useful in helping athletes cope with the physical and emotional stresses of training and competition.
Sports pharmacology has developed its own methodology and philosophy. To some extent, people balance between health and illness throughout life.. In practical terms, very few people enjoy perfect health; most people live in an intermediate state between good and bad health. The capacity to resist illnesses is dependent upon a person's healthy reserve.
Medical science has emphasized curing disease as the primary method of achieving good health. However, modern research suggests that this has been a flawed approach. In spite of the incredible success of medical science in treating disease and the vast expenditure on medical care in Western Nations, the incidence of illness and medical costs are rising. During the past 20 years in the USA, the sharp increase in the proportion of the national income spent on health care has failed to produce a proportional fall in the death rate and in increase in the average life span (Sokolowska, 1978; Kaznacheyev, 1973). Neither social nor medical measures has had the anticipated effect of preserving the health of the general population.
Ergogenic Aids in Western Countries
Historically sport pharmacology was not acknowledged in the United States. Instead, the concept of ergogenic aids and sports supplements have been prompted. Ergogenic aids include any substances or methods believed to aid or improve athletic performance. Interest in ergogenic aids centers on the effects of drugs on athletic performance, particularly on the effects of anabolic steroids on increasing muscle size and strength. Most of the ergogenic aids have been borrowed from medicine and biological sciences, but few of them have been proven by experimental research to be effective and safe as sports performance enhancers. Also, there is no comprehensive methodology for their use. There is also little information about their toxicity (acute or chronic) or their effects on physical stimulation or recuperation. Moreover, the concept of ergogenic aids has become commercialized and served as an instrument for business rather than scientific support for athletes. Even multi-million dollar sports supplementation companies in the United States do not back up their products with satisfactory experimental studies.
Pharmacology and Sport in Soviet Union
Medicine tried to enhance public health mainly by treating disease. However, this method does not create optimal physiological function. Soviet scientists were among the first to clearly realize that optimal health and the treatment of illness are often distinct processes. Though the goals were closely interlinked, the strategy, tactics and "technology" of successfully reaching both targets presupposed two different scientific solutions and two separate systems to be implemented in practice. In the athlete, optimal health was associated with optimal performance.
The new methodology of health promotion (as opposed to treatment of disease) favored the principles of the structure-dose-effect, individualization, periodization and systemic patterns in selecting pharmacological means of promoting health and performance in athletes. Moreover, the methodology involved providing athletes with complexes of pharmacological agents, rather than administering them separately. The complexes were formulated with concern of the specific biological effect of the individual components on various systems of the athlete's organism (systemic approach). Consequently, complexes of medicines with versatile physiological effects have been developed, including adaptogens, nootropes, psychostimulants, anabolics, anticatabolics, immunomodulators, cardiovascular protectors, hepatoprotectants (liver guards), muscle protectants, recuperants. As the number of the consumed medicines sometimes exceeded 25, a special step-wise time scheduled mode of supplementation was elaborated when designing individual plans of pharmacosanation for athletes such factors as:
•. Individual athletic goals for the period;
• Individual training plans
• Results of biomedical laboratory exams.
It was common practice for Eastern Bloc athletes to be tested regularly using blood, urine and tissue analysis to determine health potentials and training condition. The goals of these tests were primarily to enhance the athletes' health and keep them in an anabolic state. By knowing the status of the organism, the coach could fine-tune the training program to maximize gains. This procedure greatly reduced the chance of illness, overtraining, or psychological distress.
The success of sports pharmacosanation is due to a large extent to the achievements of sports biochemistry. Modern methods of analytical biochemistry allow to carry out precise monitoring of biochemical changes within physiological range. Timely correction of the biochemical changes occurring in the athlete under strain training is the principle requirement of special pharmacosanation.
Principles of Pharmacosanation
The pharmacosanation plan should be designed by a physician familiar with sports medicine, biochemistry and endocrinology. Supplements, diet, and training should be prescribed on the basis of a complete biomedical examination of the athlete.
Rational Nutrition
As a branch of Health Science the first and principal medicine for sport pharmacosanation is rational nutrition (alimentary pharmacosanation). This philosophy was espoused more than five thousand years ago by the great ancient physician and philosopher Hippocrates who taught that "food should be your medicine, and medicine should be your food." His philosophy became the basis for what modern sports medicine practitioners are attempting to put into routine practical use:
Rational nutrition implies a food intake in balance with energy expenditure taking into consideration the main food substances proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and other biologically active substances which insure an adequate range of the degree of diversity and complexity of internal milieu. Rational nutrition is a primary factor in achieving genetic potential, increasing productivity, and maximizing performance.
Supplements for Specific Purposes
The second group of medicines for sport pharmacosanation includes substances that can be used by healthy individuals for specific purposes. These include substances that improve the body's overall nonspecific resistance, which enables it to respond more steadily to stress (Selye, 1976). Examples include adaptogens (eleutherococcus, ginseng), natural tranquilizers (Rauwolfia serpentina), and also biostimulants (extracts from the horns of European reindeers).
Natural pharmacologic techniques in conjunction with rational nutrition effectively improve recovery from heavy training, the ability to withstand hard work, and muscle growth. But again, practiced by the Soviet pharmacologists, it was not simply a matter of selecting one pill over another. Rather, the process involved a complex nutritional and pharmacological program individually formulated with regard to its systemic physiological effects, combined with proper training exercises and planning. It is no easy task, and demands constant attention to details by sophisticated athletes and coaches, sport physicians, and a team of scientific supervisors.
The requirements of all sport supplements is to supply the body with substances which will improve metabolic function, reduce the energy expense of exercises, and increase the restorative potential, without causing any negative side effects or damage. Over the past twenty years, a great amount of investigative work on this topic has been conducted within the USSR. The results of these laboratory experiments, as well as practical research on top athletes has resulted in further elaboration of the system of sport pharmacology through medicinal and nutritional means. This system is a complex of pharmacosanation means — rational diets, nutritional supplements, and biologically important pharmacological substances grouped into complexes by their systemic physiological effect introduced at specific times of the training cycle that leads to significant improvements either in performance or recovery ability, or both of them.
In my opinion, the Soviet system of sport pharmacology is the finest and most complete in the world. Until recently much of the research had been kept a secret from coaches outside the East Bloc. Further we will present the Soviet system of sport pharmacology (compared to the American use of ergogenic aids). It is highly effective and functions as an excellent compliment to the most demanding training and competitive programs.
Morris Silber
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Washington State University,
Pullman, WA
USA
(Formerly, Institute of Physical Culture, Lenningrad, USSR)
Pharmacology (Pharmacon, Greek - medicinal, Logos, Greek - study) is a branch of natural sciences which studies the action of chemical compounds on living organisms. Pharmacology mainly studies the effects of chemical substances employed for treatment and prevention of various diseases and pathological conditions. One of the most important tasks of pharmacology consists of search for new effective medicines and chemical compounds to prevent illness.
The range of pharmacological studies is very wide. Studies include the effects of chemical compounds on biological systems (total body to subcellular structures), subcellular metabolism, and regulation of biological systems by receptors and enzymes.
Pharmacology is closely related to theoretical and practical medicine and has significantly influenced the development of several biomedical disciplines, particularly physiology and biochemistry. For example, the mechanism of the synaptic transmission produced by acetylcholine and norepinephrine have been discovered through the use of vegeto-tropic substances. Development and production of agents that block certain enzymes or accelerate their synthesis had stimulated advances in enzymology. Several of the complex functions of the central nervous system have been discovered through the use of psychotropic substances. In experimental medicine, pharmacological substances are important because they control various biochemical and physiological processes.
Pharmacology has been particularly important for practical medicine. A wide spectrum of highly effective medicines, has revolutionized the treatment of most diseases. Pharmacological preparations are used to inhibit or stimulate the central and peripheral nervous systems, increase or decrease blood pressure, stimulate cardiac output and pulmonary activity, regulate blood cell production, and modify blood coagulation and metabolic processes. Antimicrobial and an***arasite medicines, now commonly used to treat and prevent infectious diseases. Pharmacologic agents are widely used and are essential in practical medicine.
Progress in pharmacology has greatly affected the development of clinical medicine. The discovery of narcotics, anesthetics, curaremimetc agents and ganglioblockers has stimulated progress in surgery. Psychotropic substances have led to progress in psychiatry. Isolation and synthesis of hormones has considerably improved the diagnosis and treatment of patients with endocrine disorders. Effective treatment of infectious diseases became possible only after the introduction of antibiotics and sulfanilamides. Organ transplantation surgery has become possible only after obtaining immunodepressive medicines. Table 1 outlines the primary role of pharmacology in the development of medicine.
Because of the important role of pharmacotherapy to practical medicine, medical doctors of any specialty must have strong knowledge in pharmacology. Modern medicines have very high biological activity. Any tiny imprecision in their prescription might cause considerable negative effect on the patient's condition.
The most important task of pharmacology research consists of searching for new medicines. The process involves chemical synthesis and isolation (extraction) of natural compounds from plants, animal tissues and minerals. For example, studies might involve extraction of natural metabolites in yeasts and microorganisms. These sources contain almost every chemical compound found in man and have vast pharmacological potential. The search, screening and testing of new medicines is based on close cooperation of a multi-disciplinary team of experts, including pharmacologists, chemists, systematic botanist or zoologist, biochemist, molecular biologist and physicians. The intermediate position of pharmacology within theoretical and practical medicine explains the variety of scientific problems considered by pharmacology.
History
The history of pharmacology is as old as human kind (Table 1). Developments in pharmacology tended to occur during periods of rapid socioeconomic change. In primitive societies, plants served as medicines. Primitive people observed and mimicked the behavior of animals or discovered some curable properties of plants by accident. This period in pharmacology is commonly called the empirical period. Gradually, healing became the privilege of clergyman, who attributed the power of medicines to divine strength. This time is known as empirical-mystical period. During the feudal period, which coincided with a general decline in science and culture, progress in pharmacology and medicine ground to a halt. Medical art was in the domain of monks who preached scholasticism, a religious-idealistic philosophy of the Middle Ages. The effects of medicines were related to the position of the moon, constellations and planets. Astrology became an integral part of medicine, and alchemy grew very popular. This period of the history of medicine and pharmacology is usually referred to as religious-scholastic.
Pharmacology as a science began with the formation of large nation states and significant economic development of the 18th and 19th century. First, experimental methodology was introduced for the analysis and the determination of action of medicinal preparations. Extraction technique were developed, which, for example, allowed pharmacologists to obtain alkaloids from various plants. Pharmacology was particularly advanced with the development of synthetic preparations. These development gradually led to the formation of the chemical-pharmaceutical industry.
Pharmacology is usually subdivided into general and specialized. General pharmacology investigates the gross action of medicines. Special pharmacology deals with concrete pharmacological groups and individual preparations. The most attention in both subdivisions is given to pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the medicinal preparations. Pharmacokinetics is a part of pharmacology studying absorption, distribution in the body, metabolism and excretion of the medicine (fig. 1). Pharmacodynamics provides information about the effects of individual medicines and also their mechanism of action and localization. The effect of medicine results from its interaction with the organism. That is why pharmacological research is multidisciplinary. Pharmacology also involves the study of toxic and negative side effects of the medicines.
As discussed, pharmacology is involved in the treatment and prevention of various pathological conditions. During the last few decades, the pharmacology of health - pharmacosanation — has been developed into an independent subdivision of the applied pharmacology A pioneer in this area was Soviet pharmacologist, Israel Breckman (1980). Pharmacosanation is the study of the action of biologically active substances entering a healthy body in the form of food or medicines that prevent illness, increase resistance to various adverse factors, and enhance recovery from biological stressors. (Breckman, 1982).
Originally, the concept of pharmacosanation came from the science of health, or valeology (from the Latin word "valeo" meaning "I am well", "I am fit".) But very soon it became integrated into sports medicine. Known in the Soviet Union as sports pharmacology, its development was an important part of the sports achievement of athletes from the USSR and the East Bloc sports superpowers, East Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria.
The development of sports pharmacosanation occurred for many reasons. Besides the social and political motives, its appearance was a progressive step in the separation of preventative and treatment pharmacology. Competitive athletes are subject to many hardships — strenuous work, injuries, cold and heat, thirst and fatigue, and emotional stress. These stresses can lead to immunosuppression and illness. Sports pharmacology pharmacosanation has proven useful in helping athletes cope with the physical and emotional stresses of training and competition.
Sports pharmacology has developed its own methodology and philosophy. To some extent, people balance between health and illness throughout life.. In practical terms, very few people enjoy perfect health; most people live in an intermediate state between good and bad health. The capacity to resist illnesses is dependent upon a person's healthy reserve.
Medical science has emphasized curing disease as the primary method of achieving good health. However, modern research suggests that this has been a flawed approach. In spite of the incredible success of medical science in treating disease and the vast expenditure on medical care in Western Nations, the incidence of illness and medical costs are rising. During the past 20 years in the USA, the sharp increase in the proportion of the national income spent on health care has failed to produce a proportional fall in the death rate and in increase in the average life span (Sokolowska, 1978; Kaznacheyev, 1973). Neither social nor medical measures has had the anticipated effect of preserving the health of the general population.
Ergogenic Aids in Western Countries
Historically sport pharmacology was not acknowledged in the United States. Instead, the concept of ergogenic aids and sports supplements have been prompted. Ergogenic aids include any substances or methods believed to aid or improve athletic performance. Interest in ergogenic aids centers on the effects of drugs on athletic performance, particularly on the effects of anabolic steroids on increasing muscle size and strength. Most of the ergogenic aids have been borrowed from medicine and biological sciences, but few of them have been proven by experimental research to be effective and safe as sports performance enhancers. Also, there is no comprehensive methodology for their use. There is also little information about their toxicity (acute or chronic) or their effects on physical stimulation or recuperation. Moreover, the concept of ergogenic aids has become commercialized and served as an instrument for business rather than scientific support for athletes. Even multi-million dollar sports supplementation companies in the United States do not back up their products with satisfactory experimental studies.
Pharmacology and Sport in Soviet Union
Medicine tried to enhance public health mainly by treating disease. However, this method does not create optimal physiological function. Soviet scientists were among the first to clearly realize that optimal health and the treatment of illness are often distinct processes. Though the goals were closely interlinked, the strategy, tactics and "technology" of successfully reaching both targets presupposed two different scientific solutions and two separate systems to be implemented in practice. In the athlete, optimal health was associated with optimal performance.
The new methodology of health promotion (as opposed to treatment of disease) favored the principles of the structure-dose-effect, individualization, periodization and systemic patterns in selecting pharmacological means of promoting health and performance in athletes. Moreover, the methodology involved providing athletes with complexes of pharmacological agents, rather than administering them separately. The complexes were formulated with concern of the specific biological effect of the individual components on various systems of the athlete's organism (systemic approach). Consequently, complexes of medicines with versatile physiological effects have been developed, including adaptogens, nootropes, psychostimulants, anabolics, anticatabolics, immunomodulators, cardiovascular protectors, hepatoprotectants (liver guards), muscle protectants, recuperants. As the number of the consumed medicines sometimes exceeded 25, a special step-wise time scheduled mode of supplementation was elaborated when designing individual plans of pharmacosanation for athletes such factors as:
•. Individual athletic goals for the period;
• Individual training plans
• Results of biomedical laboratory exams.
It was common practice for Eastern Bloc athletes to be tested regularly using blood, urine and tissue analysis to determine health potentials and training condition. The goals of these tests were primarily to enhance the athletes' health and keep them in an anabolic state. By knowing the status of the organism, the coach could fine-tune the training program to maximize gains. This procedure greatly reduced the chance of illness, overtraining, or psychological distress.
The success of sports pharmacosanation is due to a large extent to the achievements of sports biochemistry. Modern methods of analytical biochemistry allow to carry out precise monitoring of biochemical changes within physiological range. Timely correction of the biochemical changes occurring in the athlete under strain training is the principle requirement of special pharmacosanation.
Principles of Pharmacosanation
The pharmacosanation plan should be designed by a physician familiar with sports medicine, biochemistry and endocrinology. Supplements, diet, and training should be prescribed on the basis of a complete biomedical examination of the athlete.
Rational Nutrition
As a branch of Health Science the first and principal medicine for sport pharmacosanation is rational nutrition (alimentary pharmacosanation). This philosophy was espoused more than five thousand years ago by the great ancient physician and philosopher Hippocrates who taught that "food should be your medicine, and medicine should be your food." His philosophy became the basis for what modern sports medicine practitioners are attempting to put into routine practical use:
Rational nutrition implies a food intake in balance with energy expenditure taking into consideration the main food substances proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and other biologically active substances which insure an adequate range of the degree of diversity and complexity of internal milieu. Rational nutrition is a primary factor in achieving genetic potential, increasing productivity, and maximizing performance.
Supplements for Specific Purposes
The second group of medicines for sport pharmacosanation includes substances that can be used by healthy individuals for specific purposes. These include substances that improve the body's overall nonspecific resistance, which enables it to respond more steadily to stress (Selye, 1976). Examples include adaptogens (eleutherococcus, ginseng), natural tranquilizers (Rauwolfia serpentina), and also biostimulants (extracts from the horns of European reindeers).
Natural pharmacologic techniques in conjunction with rational nutrition effectively improve recovery from heavy training, the ability to withstand hard work, and muscle growth. But again, practiced by the Soviet pharmacologists, it was not simply a matter of selecting one pill over another. Rather, the process involved a complex nutritional and pharmacological program individually formulated with regard to its systemic physiological effects, combined with proper training exercises and planning. It is no easy task, and demands constant attention to details by sophisticated athletes and coaches, sport physicians, and a team of scientific supervisors.
The requirements of all sport supplements is to supply the body with substances which will improve metabolic function, reduce the energy expense of exercises, and increase the restorative potential, without causing any negative side effects or damage. Over the past twenty years, a great amount of investigative work on this topic has been conducted within the USSR. The results of these laboratory experiments, as well as practical research on top athletes has resulted in further elaboration of the system of sport pharmacology through medicinal and nutritional means. This system is a complex of pharmacosanation means — rational diets, nutritional supplements, and biologically important pharmacological substances grouped into complexes by their systemic physiological effect introduced at specific times of the training cycle that leads to significant improvements either in performance or recovery ability, or both of them.
In my opinion, the Soviet system of sport pharmacology is the finest and most complete in the world. Until recently much of the research had been kept a secret from coaches outside the East Bloc. Further we will present the Soviet system of sport pharmacology (compared to the American use of ergogenic aids). It is highly effective and functions as an excellent compliment to the most demanding training and competitive programs.