A little more about Mildronate and about its analogs

Latvian medicine Mildronate, destroyed the careers of an entire goldfield of Russian sports stars, already Meldonium has become a nightmare for Russian officials and fans. We are trying to prove to themselves and to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), that Midlronate is not a drug, but few understand - what is this drug and how it actually works in sport. For explanations, "Sport Express" appealed to Farid Khamidullin - sports doctor, who worked in the football club "Lokomotiv" and "Ruby", as well as up to the 2012 Olympics in London - in the national team of Russia in athletics.

Kulizhnikov And Elistratov tested positive for Meldonium

Psychological dependence

- Can you explain a human: why athletes need Mildronate?

- The mechanism of action of this drug is very simple: it allows splitting of fatty acids and receive large amounts of glucose. A glucose, as is well known, the main source of energy for muscle - approximately as car gasoline. But you can not just drink the glucose and get energy - it must first get into the cage and go there are certain processes. Mildronate and other similar drugs allow them to intensify and get this extra energy.

- Then it turns out that claims of WADA for Mildronate are justified - it gives unsporting advantage?

- I can take mildronate at a time when a lot of work to relieve fatigue and to support the heart. But of course, in the sport at the elite level, it does not give advantages. If a person is functionally ready to jump in height to a maximum of 2.30 meters - that he did jump, and he would not take as much Mildronate as he can to jump for 2.32 meters.

- Is it true that there are more effective foreign analogs of Mildronate?

- Of course. Mildronate is not the best reductant. If you draw a gradation, in the first place among similar drugs I would put Esafosfina, the second is Neoton, the third is L-carnitine, and only then goes Mildronate. Moreover, L-carnitine with Mildronate have a similar mechanism of action. The main difference is that the first - is an amino acid, and the second - a synthesized drug. But I do not understand why these two drugs Mildronate is impossible, and L-carnitine can be? Then let us and vitamins of group B ban, as they are also involved in the process of metabolism. Is the problem Mildronate only that it is cheap and is done with us?

- Why do so many athletes took Mildronate if there are more effective and also permitted drugs?

- The main reason is a low cost, Mildronate is an economy version. For example, one vial neoton in the pharmacy cost 3 times more expenxive than Mildronate, Esafosfina – 10 times and more. What young athletes will select? Especially considering that they still have to buy ointments, tapes and a lot of things to prevent and heal injuries.

- But hardly the price was the determining factor for Maria Sharapova and Yulia Efimova..

- Athletes are superstitious. Here, for example, swimmer once took Mildronate 500 tablet, and the next day he won important competitions. He won, because of developed training cycles, he reached the peak shape and showed his character in the end. But in his mind was strengthened: "Mildronate - means victory." And sometimes it is impossible to convince! For example, the players take to the popular game of three or four pills of Riboxin, and then they say: "I could at least three-inning play." Although it is clear that we are talking only about the psychological dependence.

- And what, in your experience, including elite athletes now there are these "dependent" on Mildronate?

- Little. In my experience, it is only used as an alternative to L-carnitine, if so, for whatever reasons, Mildronate suddenly was at hand.

Likely error is within Removal of Mildronate

- How on use Mildronate - during training and competitions?

- It is optimally used Mildronate after the competition to recover quickly. Or between the races. For example, if events are on the race circuit - semi-finals - finals.

- That is the case with Paul Kulizhnikovym skater and short trekistom Elistratov Semyon, who for two days have passed positive and negative samples for mildronat - taking this drug during important competitions made sense?

- Of course. Athletes experiencing enormous stress, and restoration of organs and muscular system will be faster if you replenish energy reserves, ie glucose.

- Can you believe that your colleagues do not know about the ban of Mildronate and continued to apply Meldonium after 1 January 2016?

- Usually, all the doctors monitor information: online and WADA, and other sources. For us it is a question of earnings and professional reputation. Rather, there was an error in the other. Mildronate is banned for only three months. Why not for a year or six months? Who investigated the deadline for the withdrawal of the drug from the body? Moreover, such studies are possible: the current lab allow to distinguish traces of metabolites from recently received Meldonium.

- In today's sports is an option that the athlete took Mildronate or do anything on the sly from the trainer and the doctor, or there are no desperate athletes now?

- I have not seen such illiterate. Typically, athletes jealous of everything that they propose to adopt, and twenty-five times recheck each tablet before eating it. They tend to be conservative, fear of everything new, and they prefer familiar products with obvious effect.