Steroid stanozolol mimics testosterone, boosts muscle

Greek high jumper Dimitris Chondrokoukis has tested positive for doping with an anabolic steroid which has featured in several Olympic positive dope tests in the past.

An old, relatively cheap and easy-to-detect drug, stanozolol, like other anabolic steroids, is designed to mimic the effects of the male sex hormones testosterone and dihydrotestosterone.

Higher levels of testosterone cause anabolic changes in the body, including an increased rate of protein synthesis.

This in turn can boost muscle growth and an ability to recover more quickly between bouts of strenuous exercise.

Experts say power and strength sports are the events where potential cheats are most likely to use such steroids.

Stanozolol, first developed in the 1960s, is now available as a cheap generic, often sold under the brand names Winstrol and Tenabol. It can be taken either as a liquid suspension, as a tablet, or in injectable form.

Its legitimate uses include the treatment of anemia and a condition called hereditary angioedema, which can cause sudden attacks of swelling in the hands, arms, feet, face or airways.

Fellow Greek Leonidas Sampanis, a weightlifter, tested positive for the same drug during the Athens Olympics in 2004, as did Russian weightlifter Albina Khomic.

(Reporting by Health and Science Correspondent Kate Kelland, editing by Justin Palmer)

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By Kate Kelland