Drug Traces

["Linda B. Merims" <lbm@ici.net>]

Tivers@aol.com wrote:

> It gets worse. for each test an ELISA procedure is necessary--depending on
> how many ELISA tests are used per blood sample, that is the limit to testing.
> For example, in Kentucky, up unitl recently, 3 ELISA tests were used while in
> California some 22 were used--for each race horse tested. Kentucky was well
> known as the state where "anything goes".
> 
> Meanwhile, in other jurisdictions, labs are told to tweak their machines so
> that these very sensitive tests catch only the blatent violations--too many
> positives and racing gets a well-deserved "bad name".
> 
> So, that leads to the question as to how many ELISA tests are being used in
> endurance. My guess: not many.

OK, I have to ask:  What does "ELISA" stand for?

And do I understand you correctly that it *isn't* as though one puts
the blood or urine into a little hopper and the machine finds everything
that's in it from a list of, oh, 100+ substances that the machine knows
about.  But rather you have to know in advance which substances you
are going to test for, that each test might be quite different, and
that the list of tests that any given machine can find tends to be
rather short, so short that California's 22 is considered very thorough?
Are they even separate procedures on separate machines?

On the topic of public education:  I remembered something last night
that I had forgotten.  Spring shot vaccinations often contain some
kind of mild sedative, mixed in by the manufacturer.  I found this out to
my surprise when one year I mounted up immediately after my horse had had
his shots and discovered that his walking heart rate was consistently 15
beats lower than normal.  I thought he was going into shock!  I called up
the vet and he explained about the tranquilizer.  I have no idea what the
substance was nor how long it would show up in a blood test.

It never occurred to me that, to take up this sport, my horse would
have to become a practising Christian Scientist!

Linda B. Merims
lbm@ici.net
Massachusetts, USA


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