Is Kobe Blood Doping? What Those Trips To Germany Are Really About
Kobe Bryant is just back from a ruptured Achilles tendon, but that doesn't mean the rest of him is magically fixed. He's still got to deal with all the damage that 18 years of professional basketball inflicts on the human body. In recent years, that's meant a trip to Germany and a promising, somewhat obscure new medical treatment called platelet rich plasma therapy. But just what the hell is going on over there?
Here's what we know: In 2011, Bryant travelled to Germany to receive his first installment of platelet rich plasma therapy (PRP) while recovering from surgery to remove bone fragments in his knee. The treatment involved spinning samples of a Kobe's own blood to concentrate the platelets from the rest of the blood and then injecting the platelet rich portion of the blood back into his knee. Following the procedure, he returned to the states and played with significantly less pain in his arthritic right knee.
The rationale for using this therapy remains compelling: it's relatively cheap, minimally invasive, and the platelets harbor growth factors—fibroblast growth factor, connective tissue growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, etc.—that are thought to accelerate the natural healing process and promote blood vessel formation and cartilage repair. The entire process can take less than fifteen minutes and increases the concentration of platelets and growth factors up to 500%. Growth is a crucial part of the healing process, so this is great news for athletes. But as I tumbled down the rabbit hole of internet testimonials trumpeting PRP, a question came to mind: How is this different than the blood doping that cyclists do?
To appreciate the distinction—and to understand why PRP was once banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)—it's important to know a bit about what is actually in our blood. There are three main constituents—red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets—as well as scores of unique molecules that help the body fight infection, make more red blood cells, mount a fever, and clot properly. There are potential risks and benefits to augmenting any one of these components, and some give more of a competitive advantage than others. I've seen white blood cells infused into a patient fighting an infection, and clotting factors dripped into a bleeding liver patient, but it's fairly obvious that neither of these treatments would provide a boost to an athlete. Cyclists, on the other hand, have cheated for years by boosting the number of red blood cells in their system because it increases oxygen-carrying capacity, which improves endurance. But the platelets Kobe is receiving don't carry oxygen; they help blood to clot and, more importantly for an athlete, they harbor molecules that help tissue to heal, although the exact mechanism of regeneration has not yet been determined.
Because the science was initially somewhat fuzzy, WADA—which does not preside over American professional sports—banned intramuscular PRP injections in 2010 over concerns that it might increase performance-enhancing growth factors. But as molecular biology advanced, the case against PRP became less viable. There's simply no data to support the argument that additional platelets and their growth factors improve endurance or any other quantifiable measure of fitness. So in January 2011, the WADA removed PRP from its list of prohibited therapies after determining that there was a "lack of any current evidence concerning the use of these methods for purposes of performance enhancement." Accelerated healing is not technically a competitive advantage. For now.
This decision by the WADA opened the door for other athletes to consider this intriguing therapy. Derrick Rose, Tiger Woods, and Rafael Nadal have all reportedly received PRP and earlier this month Kobe Bryant left Lakers training camp to travel back to Germany for another round of treatment.
http://regressing.deadspin.com/is-kobe-blood-doping-what-those-trips-to-germany-are-r-1449096546/@kylenwAny body have this done for surgery recovery?
