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EPO (Erythropoietin)Complete info about EPO (Erythropoietin)EPO is a glycoprotein that regulates red cell (RBC) production. In the human, EPO is produced by the kidneys of the adult and by hepatocytes in the fetus. Roughly a century ago, two researchers, Carnot and Deflandre, figured out that a humoral factor, which they called "hemopoietine," regulates red blood cell production. This eventually made it possible to synthesize and eventually clone the gene for EPO and to develop recombinant EPO for use in clinical anemias. EPO binds to an erythroid progenitor cell surface receptor to regulate several functions in your body, such as bone marrow erythroid cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. EPO, as a performance enhancing drug, gained notoriety in 1998 when a bunch of cyclists in the Tour de France got caught possessing it. EPO, when taken exogenously, increases RBC in the blood. This will basically raise your energy levels (1), and thus will improve recovery, etc. Anadrol was developed for a very similar purpose as EPO, and a lot of the muscle enhancing effects/potency of A50 (increased muscle fullness, etc.) can be attributed to many of the same mechanisms which are at work in it. It's worth noting that EPO also increases protein synthesis, just like A50. Primarily, though, its effect is to increase RBCs. Having more RBCs, and thus having more oxygen delivered to muscle tissues, is directly associated with a substantial improvement in athletic performance, i.e speed, endurance, strength, etc.(2). EPO is associated with improved bodyweight, exercise capacity, oxygen uptake, respiration, whole body metabolism and energy efficiency (3). In addition, cognitive function (learning, etc.) is also improved with EPO (4). Recommended dosage is to get about 8,000-10,000IU/wk for 2 weeks. You take it all at once over 2 weeks (maybe a little over 1,000IU or so per day for 14 days) and you're done. Then, sometime in week 3, you'll start feeling the results, which will last for 3-6 months! Watch your BP, and don't let it get out of hand, because that could mean your hematocrit is getting too high—from interaction with various athletes, I think that we generally want hematocrit around 50 just over. Also remember to keep well hydrated to avoid any possible issues with clotting, and keep some aspirin on hand just in case you find that you need to thin your blood out a bit. Recently, a new EPO-related molecule has been synthesized called "novel erythropoiesis stimulating protein" (NESP), which contains a higher content of carbohydrate and provides a new antianemia agent with a longer circulating plasma half-life in vivo than native EPO. It seems to be even more potent, and this may become the doping drug of the future for endurance athletes. References
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