An MMA fighter always needs extra strength to compete with another MMA fighter. Natural strength does not grow all of a sudden. So some fighters resort to synthetic Erythropoietin (EPO) to increase the number of red blood cells to grow their aerobic capacity dramatically. Today we shall discuss the use of EPO an MMA fighter uses to stimulate energy to perform more efficiently in the competition.
EPO Helps MMA Fighter
EPO (erythropoietin) stimulates the production of red blood cells in bone marrow and essentially regulates the concentration of red blood cells and haemoglobin in the blood. This is especially useful for medical treatment of anaemia. But athletes use it for extra energy. Since red blood cells shuttle oxygen to the cells, including muscle cells, enabling them to operate more effectively.
EPO (erythropoietin) is not only useful for anaemia treatment to maintain a healthy amount of red blood cells, but also help athletes to grow instant energy. This EPO is a man-made synthetic form of EPO that healthcare providers use to treat anemia, resulting from chronic kidney disease.
Healthcare providers clone the gene for EPO and give it to the kidney patients by injection.
How exactly EPO helps MMA Fighter
An MMA practitioner who takes EPO, particularly in training, can endure more pain and can train longer than expected. In exercises, he can outperform others. He can hit the bag many times more and jump the rope more and more.
In other words, Erythropoietin (EPO) is a performance-enhancing substance, synthetic though. It is also produced naturally as a hormone in the body. It stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells that increases oxygen supply to the blood, which allows an athlete to train or perform more efficiently.
Risk of EPO Misuse
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) warns that EPO thickens the blood, which causes an increased risk of several deadly diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and cerebral disease. Athletes, including MMA fighters, who misuse man-made EPO are also at risk of serious auto-immune diseases.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established on 10 November 1999. Its mission is to promote and coordinate the fight against doping in athletic sports internationally. EPO is prohibited at all times under the WADA Prohibited List.
EPO Use For Medication
In 1985, Lin et al isolated the human Erythropoietin Gene from a genomic phage library and used it to produce EPO to treat anemia disease. In 1987, Synthetic EPO was first successfully used to correct anemia. In 1989, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the hormone Epogen for use in certain anaemias, of course not for the use of athletes to stimulate energy.
EPO is a revolutionary invention of medical science to help treat kidney patients. But its misuse could cause untimely death. EPO is not yet strictly prohibited in MMA. Despite the temporary benefits of training and outperformance in fighting, the detriment is more than benefits, if the synthetic substance is misused.