Ban on Meldonium may raise death rate in athletes: Inventor

Riga The inventor of the drug Meldonium has warned that the World AntiDoping Agencys WADA decision to outlaw the formula may soon contribute to a higher death rate among professional athletesIvars Kalnins of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis invented Meldonium also known as mildronate back in the Soviet era Since January 1 2016 the drug has featured on WADAs blacklist Several Russian athletes have proven to have used it lately reports TassThe ban on the drug is a crime said Kalvins We are surely to see the rate of deaths of professional athletes after competitions climb Who will be responsible for that Certainly not WADA people They will be throwing hands up in confusionThe blame will be placed squarely on the athletes for breaking the limits Their decision strips the athletes of a chance to protect themselves and stay aliveThe formula has been on the market for 32 years And all of a sudden it is blacklisted Fine just fine The athletes have been punished for their wish to go on living said KalvinsMeldonium is used to treat ischaemia a lack of blood flow to parts of the body particularly in cases of angina or heart failure It is manufactured in Latvia and only distributed in Baltic countries and RussiaIt is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and is not authorised in the rest of Europe It increases blood flow which improves exercise capacity in athletes and is particularly helpful in treating heart ailmentsWDA found evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance by virtue of carrying more oxygen to muscle tissue and has hence banned itThe presence of this substance identified in the athletes blood during or between competitions is a violation of the current antidoping rules It belongs with the S4 class on WADAs blacklist hormones and metabolic modulatorsAccording to the drugs inventor no scientist in the world still has clear statistics that might confirm how long it takes Meldonium to leave the human bodyWADA has blacklisted it as a prohibited formula but nobody knows for how long it may stay in the human body Nobody has ever conducted research into this matter yet Kalvins saidThere had been no need for such research Clearly it may be not hours but days or possibly weeks It all depends on the accuracy of the method of testing You may identify the traces of medications you took three months ago provided you have the equipment that is sensitive enoughKalvins explained that from the medical point of view it is important to know the period over which 50 percent of the drug in question leaves the human body and not the entire amountFor medical purposes it is essential to know the period of halfdissimilation In other words the period of time when half of the drug is out he saidIn some cases this may happen over 18 hours and in others over eight hours But nobody cares how much time will be necessary for the tailing to disappear without a trace Will the drug begin to be accumulated in the human body if you start taking it again No statistics are available at this point