After NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s appeal to congress to amend federal labor law to allow professional sports league to suspend players who tested positive for drug tests, the Congress issued a statement last Tuesday regarding their reluctance to intervene and even encouraged the NFL and the players union to settle their dispute.

According to the chairperson of house subcommittee for Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, Rep. Bobby Rush, they are concerned about the effects of the StarCaps case and would want to keep a vigilant watch on the procedure and the conflict. However, Rush said that congress would prefer to help both parties with coming up with a solution and resolving the issue among themselves.

Rep. Henry Waxman, the congressional representative who led investigations during the 2005 to 2008 steroids abuse in baseball supports Goodell’s appeal.

According to Rep. Waxman, steroids policies set by professional sports league to curb steroids abuse should prevail. If these policies will be considered null and void, it could lead to an invitation of steroids abuse not only in professional sports but as well as in high school and college football fields and baseball diamonds.

From Twin Cities:

WASHINGTON — The chairman of a House subcommittee investigating the landmark drug-testing lawsuit of Minnesota Vikings Kevin and Pat Williams said Tuesday that Congress is reluctant to intervene and urged the NFL and the players association to settle their dispute.

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A federal appeals court has the cleared the way for Pat Williams and Kevin Williams, Minnesota Vikings, to play all season despite strong opposition from NFL seeking suspensions for them for violating the league’s anti-doping policy.

Kevin Williams said that it is a big sigh of relief after knowing that he and Pat can play the whole NFL season.

From TimesUnion.com:

The fight isn’t over, but a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld earlier decisions from a federal district court — including one that says the remaining legal issues must be resolved in state court. The judge there has issued an injunction prohibiting the NFL from suspending the players, and he has said a state trial during the 2009 season was unlikely.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is troubled by the ruling, which says federal law doesn’t pre-empt state law just because the parties are involved in a collective bargaining agreement.

“It is putting in jeopardy a drug program that has been put in front of the entire world as being one of the highest standards in all of sports,” Goodell said in an interview on WFAN-AM in New York on Friday. “It puts in jeopardy that players in Minnesota in any sport – this could affect other sports – are subject to a different standard than in the other 49 states. You recognize that it is a fairness question for all the athletes.”

Goodell said the NFL was considering its next step, which could include an appeal, a trial in state court, or taking the issue to Congress.

A spokesman and an attorney with the NFL Players Association did not immediately return requests for comment.

It is important to note here that the two Vikings are not accused of taking steroids. They, however, acknowledge taking StarCaps, over-the-counter weight loss supplement which did not stated on the label that it included the diuretic bumetanide, which is banned by the NFL as it can mask the presence of steroids.

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The StarCaps issue still has not been resolved as of the moment, and yet the National Football League faces another case of their player violating their policy on anabolic steroids, other performance enhancing and related drugs.

David Vobora, linebacker for the St. Louis Rams, has been suspended for four games, according to the league.

According to Marc Lillibridge, Vobora did everything “by the book”. He called the NFL supplement hotline to check the ingredients in his nutritional supplement. He even read the list of ingredients to the employee and he was told that the product was safe. He was confident that none of the product’s ingredients would yield a positive result for drug tests. He eventually began using the product.

Although they have contested the test result, Vobora still faces suspension because according to NFL rules, every player is responsible for his own body and for whatever supplement or substance that he ingests.

Lillibridge and Vobora are currently in the process of filing a case against the manufacturer of the supplement that Vobora took.

Vobora started his football career in NFL as a rookie on July 22, 2008 under the St. Louis Rams. During the 2009 season, he was named as the starting strongside linebacker.

From National Football Post:

While the StarCaps suspensions hang in the balance, the NFL has cracked down on another player for violation of the league’s policy on anabolic steroids and related substances. St. Louis linebacker David Vobora has been suspended for four games, the league announced.

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With all the athletes who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and their common excuse of not being aware that what they were taking contained PEDs, it is only sensible that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and executive director of the Players’ Association, DeMaurice Smith send a “friendly” reminder regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs or nutritional supplements.

According to ESPN reports, the summary of the commissioner’s reminders are as follows:

Any athlete is responsible for his own body. Therefore, the common excuse of taking a nutritional supplement containing an undeclared performance-enhancing substance is NOT an excuse if a doping test is failed.

Second, take any supplements at your own risk. There are nutritional supplements certified by the Sports Nutrition Label Certification Program, however, if you want anything not approved by this program, then you must be responsible for the consequences. These supplements ay contain ingredients that may cause you to test positive.

Third, weight loss supplements are as risky as any other supplements; therefore, you must not take them. One example is the weight loss supplement, StarCaps that caused two Vikings and Saints players to fail their doping tests.

Lastly, any questions regarding supplements must be addressed by Dr. John Lombardo, the administrator of the league’s policy on steroids and other related substances.

From NESN:

What is the most common excuse the infamous members of The List have used when informed that they had tested positive for performance-enhancing substances?

“I didn’t realize that what I was taking was a PED,” they say — or some variation on that theme.

So it makes sense that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith are being proactive with their own league this season

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If it is determined, that NFL could not run its steroid testing program effectively in cooperation with the player’s union, then it is possible that the league would give control of its steroid -testing program to an outside agency.

It would be a very significant move for the league, considering that it has administered its own testing policy for two decades.

The acknowledgement came after the court rulings on the case of Minnesota Vikings players were released. Courts ruled two issues involving Minnesota workplace laws while rejecting most of the players’ claims.

According to the league’s view, players belonging to different teams are subject to a different set of drug-testing rules depending on which state they play in.

In a telephone interview, Jeff Pash, the league counsel and executive vice president for labor said that their program was fragmented by wide-ranging state laws. If this were the case, then it would be best if they turn to an outside agency such as the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) to administer their drug-testing program. If there is anything they do not want to do, that is to stop the program because it has been beneficial to everyone.

According to The Washington Post:

The NFL might consider giving control of its steroid-testing program to an outside agency if it determines that it cannot continue to run the program effectively in cooperation with the players’ union, a top league official said Thursday. Such a move would represent a significant shift in policy for a league that has administered its testing policy in conjunction with the union for two decades.

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Kevin and Pat Williams, Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles will be able play in Cleveland this week despite pending court case against the National Football League (NFL).

The league previously handed the Williamses with four-game suspensions due to a drug policy violation last summer.

According to NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello, the suspensions will not begin this weekend, during the season opener.

The two players denied taking steroids although they admitted to taking an over-the-counter weight loss supplement called Star Caps. However, the supplement had a hidden ingredient, a prescription diuretic known as bumetanide. The NFL bans the substance because it can mask the presence of steroids.

A federal ruling last May dismissed some of the players’ claims against the league. However, others were allowed to go forward in Minnesota state trial court. This ruling was therefore challenged by the NFL, the players and the NFL football association.

These proceedings are currently on hold in the Hennepin County District Court. The 8^th US Circuit Court of Appeals will have to resolve the appeals, and everybody involved in the case are still waiting for their final decision.

According to Peter Ginsberg, one of the lawyers representing the Williamses, the NFL has no choice but to hold the suspension until the 8^th district makes its decision.

From the Associated Press:

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams will be able to play in the season-opener at Cleveland this weekend, regardless of what happens with their court case against the NFL.

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According to a new review by researchers from Israel, steroid nasal sprays - either alone or with antibiotic therapy - can prove to be effective in preventing and curing acute sinusitis, which can develop following a chest cold.

The review was published in an issue of The Cochrane Library, a renowned publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, which is an international organization evaluating all aspects of health care.

It is believed that approximately 37 million Americans suffer from acute sinusitis. The findings of this review will help them and patients worldwide to get relief.

From News-Medical.Net:

Study participants, who underwent X-rays or nasal endoscopy to confirm diagnosis, received either a placebo or intranasal corticosteroids for two or three weeks, alone or in combination with antibiotics. Intranasal corticosteroids used included fluticasone propionate (Flonase), mometasone furoate (Nasonex) and budesonide (Rhinocort).

Overall, 73 percent of the patients treated with nasal steroids experienced relief or marked improvement of symptoms during the study period, compared with only 66.4 percent of patients who received the placebo.

“For every 100 patients treated with intranasal corticosteroids, seven additional patients had complete or marked symptom relief,” compared to those in the placebo group, the reviewers found.

Researchers pooled data from three of the four studies, excluding the lowest-quality study from the statistical analysis.

None of the studies reported serious side effects, and rates of sinusitis relapse were similar between the treatment and placebo groups.

Stronger doses of nasal steroids appeared to work better. Patients receiving daily doses of 400 micrograms were more likely to experience relief of sinusitis symptoms, than were patients receiving 200-microgram doses.

Allen Seiden, M.D., director of the University of Cincinnati Taste and Smell Center, remarked that more data is required before recommendations for intranasal corticosteroids can be made.

The involved reviewers were of the view that the findings of this review support the clinical rationale behind addition of an intranasal corticosteroid to antibiotic therapy.

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Anabolic – Androgenic steroids or AAS was found to be highly related to specific musculo-skeletal injuries, according to Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. A confidential survey was sent to a group of retired NFL members regarding health issues and problems they encountered after their retirement. Respondents’ average age is at 54 years and their average playing career is at 6.6 years.

Some of the questions included the use of AAS, and 9.1% of them confessed to using this performance – enhancing steroids.They reportedly had higher incidence of joint ligament and cartilage injuries rather than actual injuries to the muscle itself. Some of these injuries include knee ligaments and menisci injuries, herniated spinal disks, elbow injuries, neck “stinger” and “burner” injuries and injuries to the ankle, foot and toes. No injuries like biceps or triceps tear were reported.This, according to senior author, professor and research director at the University of North Carolina, Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC may lead to other chronic diseases among which include osteoarthritis, obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol abuse and even depression in later life.

More data, however, are needed to establish the link between steroids and muskulo-skleletal related injuries since the study proves to have some limitations to it.

From American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation:

“Steroid users also had an increased risk of osteoarthritis, depression and increased alcohol use later in life. In general, they were less able to maintain physically active lifestyles after retirement. The report found that players who used AAS actually had lower rates of diseases such as diabetes and cancer. However, there were only limited cases and they may reflect the fact that most of the players who used steroids have yet to reach old age, rather than any true decrease among steroid users.

The effects of AAS in increasing muscle size and strength are well known. Amid concerns about the risk of serious health effects, there are little or no data on how steroids affect the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. The NFL began enforcing its ban on AAS use by players in 1989. The athletes in the new survey were asked about their use of steroids “when it was acceptable.”

The results lend new insights into the risks of musculoskeletal injury associated with AAS use. The injury patterns suggest that joint ligaments and cartilage may not adapt to steroid-induced muscle changes. It may be that ligaments and cartilage, rather than tendons, are the “weakest link in the chain” leading to injury, according to Dr. Horn and colleagues.

The negative effect on joint health may be only the start of the adverse health effects of steroid use, Dr. Guskiewicz believes. “I call it a snowball effect, with joint injuries contributing to the gradual development of other medical problems, such as osteoarthritis, physical inactivity, depression, obesity, and diabetes.”

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Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center report that treatment with a steroid pill improves the overall survival of patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. The study shows that patients who received oral prednisone over the long term following treatment with chemotherapy maintained their remission and survived longer.

From Bio-medicine:

In the study, the researchers compared patients with multiple myeloma receiving prednisone in pill-form following a response to treatment with one of two chemotherapy combinations: vincristine, doxorubicin and dexamethasone with prednisone or with or without quinine, which has been found to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Treatment with either of the chemotherapy combinations was repeated every 21 days for at least six months or until patients achieved at least a 25 percent reduction in tumor size. After a 53-month follow-up period, the investigators found that there was no difference in either progression-free or overall survival between the patients receiving chemotherapy with or without quinine.

To determine whether prednisone alone was effective as maintenance therapy, patients who responded to treatment with up-front chemotherapy were randomly selected to receive either 10 (the amount that the body normally makes daily) or 50 mg of prednisone every other day until their disease progressed.

At the end of the study, the research team found that the long term use of prednisone delayed progression of the disease and kept patients alive longer. Furthermore, 50 mg of prednisone every other day was well tolerated, which means that patients remain active and have a much better quality of life for longer. However, further studies will be conducted to examine whether prednisone is effective to prolong remission for patients with other cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma. In addition, other drug combinations that include prednisone will be evaluated as maintenance therapy for patients with multiple myeloma.

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Medical Sciences have once again brought some good news for the athletes. A detailed study carried out on some retired players of the National Football League (NFL) have revealed that the players who comparatively had a more active life style are less likely to fall prey to diabetes, hypertension, sedentary lifestyles and metabolic syndrome.

Experiments were carried out by treating patients with intranasal corticosteroids and it was found out that out of every 100 administered patients, 7 patients were found to have marked symptom relief. This formed 73 percent of people as compared to 66.4 percent who received the placebo. It was also found out those stronger doses of steroids actually helped in the same.

From News-Medical.Net:

Overall, 73 percent of the patients treated with nasal steroids experienced relief or marked improvement of symptoms during the study period, compared with only 66.4 percent of patients who received the placebo.

“For every 100 patients treated with intranasal corticosteroids, seven additional patients had complete or marked symptom relief,” compared to those in the placebo group, the reviewers found.

Stronger doses of nasal steroids appeared to work better. Patients receiving daily doses of 400 micrograms were more likely to experience relief of sinusitis symptoms, than were patients receiving 200-microgram doses.

Although there is not enough evidence to suggest that nasal steroids can stand alone for acute sinusitis treatment, “the results of these studies and reviews support the current clinical rationale of adding an intranasal corticosteroid to antibiotic therapy,” reviewers say.

However, the research clearly showed that the study was based on retired players from an entirely different era. Football players of today’s times are about 50 percent larger in their built than a quarter of a century ago. Levine, the Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern asserted that, Today, there is a lot of incentive for football players and athletes to get as big as possible through eating, extensive training or by using anabolic steroids and other artificial growth hormones. The new criterion for success in present times is the bigger the better. But one should always keep into account the negative repercussions of consuming excessive anabolic steroids. However, when taken in prescribed quantities, they are not harmful.

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