Pleiotropy (drugs) Pleiotropy (drugs) In pharmacology, pleiotropy includes all of a drug's actions other than those for which the agent was specifically developed. It may include adverse effects which are detrimental ones, but is often used to denote additional beneficial effects. For example, statins are HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors that primarily act by decreasing cholesterol synthesis, but which are believed to have other beneficial effects, including acting as antioxidants and stabilizing atherosclerotic plaques. Steroid drugs, such as prednisone and prednisolone, have pleiotropic effects, including systemic ones, for the same reason that endogenous steroid hormones do too: cells throughout the body have receptors that
Blood doping at the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organization Chris Forbes-Ewan is quoted as saying that, unlike in sport, "all's fair in love and war." "What we are trying to gain is an advantage over any potential adversary," Forbes-Ewan said. In this study, over 50 performance-enhancing drugs and techniques were rejected. The six that were approved are caffeine, ephedrine, energy drinks, modafinil, creatine, and blood-loading. Blood doping started in the late 1960s but was not outlawed until 1986. While it was still legal, it was commonly used by middle and long-distance runners. The first known case of blood doping occurred at