Epo_Essay

Description of the Substance: • Erythropoietin is a naturally occurring hormone (glycoprotein), produced in the body. • This hormone can be manipulated in cell culture to produce the recombinant hormone EPO that human can intake. • Erythropoietin is produced in the liver and kidney and travels to the bone marrow to start its activation. What it Does: • Erythropoietin promotes the increase of red blood cells in the bone marrow which means an overall increase in hemoglobin and oxygen in the body. Why One Takes it: • This hormone is used for diseases such as anemia and patients that have underwent chemotherapy where there is a low red bloods cell count. • Also EPO is widely popular as an endurance enhancing substance for athletes which helps their cardiovascular system by getting more oxygen for cellular respiration (ATP). Dangers/Risks: • The positive effects of EPO are that it can be used for blood transfusion; EPO recombinant can safely increase a person’s blood level without searching for matching blood or worrying about contaminations. • EPO can increase red blood cell count, which in turn increases the alertness of people and allows for a longer period of strenuous exercise. • EPO has the ability to make patients who have anemia or underwent chemotherapy to increase blood count level. The hormone can restore red blood cells by increasing blood cell production in the bone. • The negative effects are that it can cause an increase in the blood pressure due to increase in the volume of blood, which can result in clotting, and various other problems such as stroke. • EPO proliferates tumor cells at a very fast pace by binding onto tumor cells that have EPO receptors, causing the tumor to grow. Availability & Cost: • Erythropoietin is only available in pharmacies, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that are licensed to sell EPO and only to certain patients. • The cost of EPO varies per patient: it is determined through the recommended dosage and the average use for the hormone. • For example: the annual cost for 90 hemodialysis patients is $460463 Cdn. Therefore the average amount of EPO per patient is about $5116 Cdn. Legal: • Erythropoietin is allowed to be used as a drug medically to help synthesis red blood cells and decrease the symptoms of certain diseases. • The hormone is banned for athletes since it has the potential to enhance their cardiovascular system, because of the unfair advantage it was banned in sports. Conclusion: • EPO is well known to increase the amount of red blood cells which can help both medically and athletically. • But, EPO has some serious dangers associates with it for those using it athletically; it is suspected to be the cause of over a dozen deaths amongst a circle of elite Dutch cyclists. • Therefore it should be concluded that EPO shouldn’t be used in sports because of the negative effects of it and should be allowed to be used medically for all the people it help to cure.