Doping Hormone Erythropoietin Also Boosts Brainpower
The red-blood-cell-boosting hormone is already used to treat anemia and by some athletes to boost endurance.
The red-blood-cell-boosting hormone erythropoietin (EPO), which is used
clinically to treat anemia and illegally by athletes to boost endurance, may
also improve brainpower. According to research published in the journal BMC
Biology, mice treated with the drug performed better in certain learning
and memory tests than did control animals.
EPO is popular among dopers because it increases blood oxygenation,
mimicking the effect of blood doping. But it also targets the nervous system,
improving survival of brain cells. The drug is currently in clinical trials for
traumatic brain injury and stroke. (A previous post describes
how EPO blocks brain swelling after trauma.)
The new research looks at how the drug affects a healthy brain. According to
a press
release issued by the journal,
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[Hannelore] Ehrenreich [from the Max Planck Institute of Experimental
Medicine, in Göttingen, Germany] and her colleagues tested the effects of
erythropoietin on the ability of the mice to learn how to exploit an
experimental set-up to receive sugared water. Over a series of learning stages,
the mice were trained to get their treat by poking their noses into holes lit
by LEDs, rather than into unlit holes, within a time limit. The mice that had
been treated with recombinant human erythropoietin were significantly more
likely to master the task than those that had not. According to Ehrenreich, “Treated
mice showed superior performance in associative, operant and discriminant
learning as well as in the initial training phases. Moreover,
erythropoietin-treated mice demonstrated better task adaptation and higher
performance stability.”
The researchers conclude, “Further untangling of molecular mechanisms
of erythropoietin action on higher cognitive functions may ultimately open new
avenues for prevention strategies and therapeutic interventions in
neuropsychiatric diseases.”
