By Nancy Sokoler Steiner '85

Available legally by prescription for medical conditions that involve low levels of testosterone production, anabolic steroids have found favor '"WfNG FIELD among athletes who want a boost to build mus cle mass and strength. However, they can cause A UCLA laboratory takes on the serious physical and psychological problems, latest designer steroids and are banned by the IOC, NCAA and NFL. Nevertheless, some athletes willingly risk sanc tions and their health for the chance to break a world record or win a medal. Don Catlin is in a race. Part marathon, part sprint, "The Olympic Analytical Laboratory is the Shortly after the in the contest pits the 65-year-old Catlin against only lab that we use for NCAA work — it's the Salt Lake City, Catlin's lab encountered an world-class Olympians, champion cyclists and best sports drug-testing laboratory in the unusual urine sample that contained a previ professional football players. The endeavor ," says Frank Uryasz, founder and ously unknown steroid. They traced it to a pow requires endurance, persistence and discipline. president of the National Center for Drug Free erful substance that had been under clinical trial Catlin isn't out to break records or earn Sport, Inc., which administers the NCAA's drug- by a drug company decades earlier. The compa medals. Rather, the Department of Molecular & testing program. "When it comes to deterring ny had halted development due to the drug's Medical Pharmacology professor and his team drug use in sports in the United States, the toxic side effects. at the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory Olympic Analytical Laboratory is a national How did a 40-year-old drug show up in the seek to thwart those who create or use illegal treasure. UCLA has committed its facilities and urine of an Olympic contender in 2002? performance-enhancing drugs. its good scientists to this cause for over 20 years, "That confirmed our long-term suspicions," Catlin started the lab in 1982 at the request and sports organizations are forever grateful for says Catlin. "There are people out there who are of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing that contribution." searching, finding and making such things." Committee. The only drug-testing facility in the Following his discovery, Catlin applied for and United States accredited by the International The work goes on inside an unmarked, nonde received an unrestricted grant from the USADA Olympic Committee (IOC), the UCLA lab ana script building in West Los Angeles where to explore the existence of other rogue drugs. lyzed urine samples for the three Olympic machines hum as they process samples from The timing proved fortuitous. Shortly after Games that have been held in the United States athletes around the country. A technician in a the grant-funded equipment and personnel since 1984 (Los Angeles in '84, Atlanta in '96 white lab coat and gloves assigns codes to each of were in place, a mysterious overnight package and Salt Lake City in '02). Although the lab will the containers delivered nearly every day to the arrived at USADA. It contained a used syringe not be testing for this summer's lab. Specimens are prepared and placed on a sent by an anonymous high-profile track-and- in Athens, Greece, Catlin will provide consulta gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. The field coach. The coach named athletes he tion and support through his role on the IOC's machine separates and analyzes the samples and believed were using an undetectable steroid. Medical Commission. In addition to servicing spits out graphs with spiky peaks and valleys USADA sent a syringe rinse to the UCLA the IOC, the lab also does testing for the United that are the distinctive fingerprints of each com Olympic Lab, where Catlin and a team of seven States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the pound that is found. The lab tests for more than chemists engaged in a complex process, work National Football League (NFL), the National 200 banned substances, including stimulants, ing backwards to discern the compound's struc Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the diuretics and hormones. But perhaps the most ture, then producing the compound from Department of Defense. Altogether, it tests notorious of the substances for which Catlin and scratch to confirm their suspicions. The result about 30,000 samples annually. his colleagues hunt are anabolic steroids. was a new drug, related to known steroids but

14) UCLA MAGAZINE to conclude that drugs are a necessary element of competition. President Bush, in his January State of the Union address, went so far as to call for a halt to the use of illegal performance- enhancing drugs. To Catiin, desecration of the Olympics is especially tragic. "The notion of the Olympic Games to me is the cleanest, purest kind of event ever," he says. "People in every country in the world can compete and the best man or woman crosses the finish line first. What could altered to avoid detection. Catiin named the eral indictment that they illegally supplied per be worse than to think they are tainted?" drug , or THG, and then formance-enhancing drugs to dozens of ath So who is winning the race against perfor created a test to detect it. letes. They could face prison terms as well as mance-enhancing drugs? "We've been through "THG is a new chemical entity never docu thousands of dollars in fines if convicted. many years where the testers have lost," says mented before, probably synthesized by clan There is tremendous variation in how the Catiin. "But for the last few years, the momen destine chemists who didn't just comb old liter governing bodies of each sport handle positive tum is definitely swinging. We're still behind in ature for abandoned pharmaceuticals but sat tests. The IOC imposes a two-year ban on anyone many ways, but at least now we have the World down to design a new molecule," Catiin and for caught using steroids, so the track athletes who Anti-Doping Agency and USADA trying to mer associate director (and now consultant) tested positive for THG will be excluded from deal with the issue, and a lot of people around Caroline K. Hatton Ph.D. '85 wrote in a participating in this summer's Olympic Games. the world who have become sensitized to it. December 2003 issue of UCLA Today. "The Britain has gone further; UK Athletics, the British Someday all this momentum will pay off." finding suggests levels of depth and organiza track-and-field federation, banned sprinter Catiin would like to see a culture shift that tion always suspected but never uncovered Dwain Chambers for life from participating in motivates and rewards athletes for staying clean before. THG shows that cheaters are willing to the Olympics after it was determined he had rather than simply punishing them for cheat go to unprecedented extremes." taken THG. And retesting of specimens means ing. At the same time, he believes that victory is champions cannot consider themselves home possible if the sporting world truly gets serious The discovery rocked the sports world. The Food free if they evade detection the first time around. about the issue by formulating a long-term plan and Drug Administration promptly declared Some athletes — and their lawyers — try to fight and backing research and funding. THG an illegal substance. Using the UCLA-cre- these penalties by contesting the results. He's convinced that the goal is attainable. ated test, international sports organizations re But the ramifications of Catlin's break "With the right funds," Catiin says, "we can level examined hundreds of urine samples still in through extend beyond sanctions. They threat the playing field." storage. Four NFL players, four U.S. track-and- en the very credibility of athletic achievement. field athletes and one British sprinter tested Now, sports feats are tainted by the specter of positive for the drug. In February, the top exec athletes using undiscovered substances to make utives at the Bay Area nutritional-supplements themselves stronger and faster, simultaneously lab suspected of distributing THG — along risking their health and cheating their competi with a track coach and the personal trainer of tors and fans. The seeming ubiquity of drug use San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds — may also entice millions of adolescent athletes, pleaded innocent to charges in a 42-count fed influenced by the behavior of their sports idols.

SPRING 2004 (15