It is not surprising that many athletes have looked at vasodilators to embellish their performances on the playing field. Reports of reliance on vasodilator drugs used for sexual dysfunction are learn more common, even at the national team level.

One report identifies the distributions of Viagra® to a national soccer team playing at high altitude, supposedly without the players’ knowledge [4]. This use has also been recognised by sport governing bodies as the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) currently sponsor a study of the performance enhancing effects of SRT1720 sildenafil (Viagra®) at mild altitude [5]. With the advent of easy availability of drugs and supplements via the internet, along with numerous unregulated discussion sites, it is concerning that athletes may unknowingly transgress YM155 price from using harmless supplements to prescription only medicines in the absence of clinical supervision (Figure 1). The requirement for clinical supervision is reflected by the serious side effect profiles that are associated with these drugs. Our previous research shows

that a concerning lack of understanding in supplements and their effect exist even among high-performing athletes who benefit from readily available support from nutritionists, doctors and physiotherapists [6–8]. Furthermore it has been shown that those who use supplements tend to use more than one concomitantly [8–12], including different types [13–15] and may move from much one category to the next more effective substance [16–18]. As shown in Figure 1, various categories of substances willingly ingested by athletes and physically active people cannot be appropriately evaluated in isolation. Figure 1 Classes of drugs based on legal status. One approach to gauging the interests of athletes in vasodilators is to analyse inquiries lodged with the Drug Information Database™ (DID™). The DID™ was developed and hosted by elite sport© and launched in the UK via UK Sport in 2002 and provided a self-check tool for athletes and support

personnel (coaches, doctors, pharmacists, teachers, parents) until 2009. The anonymous inquiries were recorded since January 2006, cataloguing some 9,000 inquiries each month, predominantly from athletes themselves. The database contained UK licensed pharmaceutical products and was searchable by trade names and active ingredients, and linked to the current List of Prohibited substances published by the WADA [19]. Information returned on the individual inquiries included in- and out-of competition status of the drug, including differentiation by the route of administration. The inquiries recorded via the DID™ have been scrutinized and shown to be a reflection of athletes’ practices [20].