Research group - Lena Ekström

We study how different doses and administration routes of doping agents (testosterone, erythropoietin, and growth hormone), genetic variations, gender, diseases, and co-medications can affect the results of doping tests. The traditional urinary biomarker for testosterone doping (T/E ratio) miss to detect testosterone intake in women, individuals homozygous for UGT2B17 deletion, and cannot discriminate between prescribed and illegal testosterone intake. 

Elite athletes test results may be longitudinal monitored in an athlete biological passport (ABP) that calculates individual thresholds. Our studies have shown that the individual ABP thresholds are larger in women due to hormonal fluctuation during the menstrual cycle. Pregnancy and contraceptives are confounders that may the interpretation of ABP results. 

A new testing strategy is to longitudinally monitor serum testosterone (and other steroids) levels. Ongoing and planned studies are/will be conducted to see how testosterone serum levels are affected by testosterone doping in women. Moreover, we are investigating how intake of therapeutic drugs and different exercise activities affect the serum steroids. 

We are investigating the possibility to use dried blood spots (DBS) as a matrix for steroid and erythropoietin (EPO) detection. We have seen that EPO can be detected in DBS with high sensitivity.  Esterified steroids are often abused in the society (among recreational athletes) and we have seen that the steroid esters can be detected in serum and DBS. The detection of esters (in DBS or serum) is a direct proof of doping and can discriminate between different testosterone drugs. We are now studying the usefulness of analyzing steroid esters in urine.

In addition to improve detection of doping substances, we are studying usage profile of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and other doping agents e.g., SARMs in the society. This is done in self-reporting AAS users and in anonymized urine samples from drug of abuse laboratory.