Researchers say gene could help dope cheats

By Michael Kahn

LONDON (Reuters) - As Olympic officials prepare a bigger dope testing program than at any previous Games, researchers say a common genetic variation may be helping some athletes to beat testosterone doping tests and get away with cheating.

People with this change had normal testosterone levels even after they were injected with high levels of the steroid, said Jenny Schulze, a geneticist at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, who worked on the study.

"Genetic factors may play an important role in the accuracy and sensitivity of testosterone doping tests," Schulze said. "This is of interest not only for combating steroid doping in sports, but also for detecting and preventing steroids abuse in society."

Athletes have long used testosterone to gain a competitive edge. The male hormone -- one of the most commonly used anabolic steroids -- increases muscle size and strength as well as helping to speed recovery from training or injury.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which funded the Swedish research, has sought to stamp out steroids amid a slew of recent drug-related scandals in a range of sports.

U.S. cyclist Floyd Landis received a two-year ban after a French laboratory turned up traces of synthetic testosterone in a sample he provided during the 2006 Tour de France.

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