mayhem
15-12-2009, 06:39 AM
A Canadian doctor with ties to golfer Tiger Woods, sprinter Donovan Bailey and many NFL and CFL football players is under criminal investigation in the United States over suspicions that he provided athletes with performance-enhancing drugs, according to media reports.
In an article published Monday on the New York Times website, the newspaper reported that Dr. Anthony Galea was stopped at the U.S.-Canada border at the end of September with human growth hormone and Actovegin, a drug extracted from calf's blood.
Galea was arrested on Oct. 15 in Toronto by the RCMP after a raid on his offices, and faces three counts of illegally importing and selling drugs in Canada. He is scheduled to appear in court in Toronto on Friday.
According to anonymous sources who spoke to the Times, medical records found on Galea's computer relating to several professional athletes prompted the FBI to open an investigation.
Galea told the newspaper "it would be impossible" for investigators to have found material linking his athletes to performance-enhancing drugs.
Actovegin is illegal for sale in Canada and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency if used intravenously. While the controversial drug is meant to promote healing, it is also believed to improve stamina and first came to the attention of the anti-doping authorities several years ago when some elite cyclists were found to be using it.
Although there is no suggestion that Woods was given Actovegin or any other unapproved or banned drug, he did use Galea's cutting-edge injury-healing procedure called platelet-rich plasma therapy, popularly known as blood-spinning.
The technique involves taking blood from the patient and spinning it in a centrifuge to increase the concentration of red platelets before re-injecting into the patient's injured ligament, tendon or muscle to speed the rate of healing.
The procedure is legal under WADA rules, although, beginning in 2010, it will be allowed only for injections into ligaments and tendons, not muscles.
The doctor is listed as the head physician with the Toronto Argonauts football team and is the director of the Institute of Sports Medicine outside the city.
http://www.canada.com/sports/Canadian+doctor+sports+doping+probe/2341418/story.html
In an article published Monday on the New York Times website, the newspaper reported that Dr. Anthony Galea was stopped at the U.S.-Canada border at the end of September with human growth hormone and Actovegin, a drug extracted from calf's blood.
Galea was arrested on Oct. 15 in Toronto by the RCMP after a raid on his offices, and faces three counts of illegally importing and selling drugs in Canada. He is scheduled to appear in court in Toronto on Friday.
According to anonymous sources who spoke to the Times, medical records found on Galea's computer relating to several professional athletes prompted the FBI to open an investigation.
Galea told the newspaper "it would be impossible" for investigators to have found material linking his athletes to performance-enhancing drugs.
Actovegin is illegal for sale in Canada and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency if used intravenously. While the controversial drug is meant to promote healing, it is also believed to improve stamina and first came to the attention of the anti-doping authorities several years ago when some elite cyclists were found to be using it.
Although there is no suggestion that Woods was given Actovegin or any other unapproved or banned drug, he did use Galea's cutting-edge injury-healing procedure called platelet-rich plasma therapy, popularly known as blood-spinning.
The technique involves taking blood from the patient and spinning it in a centrifuge to increase the concentration of red platelets before re-injecting into the patient's injured ligament, tendon or muscle to speed the rate of healing.
The procedure is legal under WADA rules, although, beginning in 2010, it will be allowed only for injections into ligaments and tendons, not muscles.
The doctor is listed as the head physician with the Toronto Argonauts football team and is the director of the Institute of Sports Medicine outside the city.
http://www.canada.com/sports/Canadian+doctor+sports+doping+probe/2341418/story.html