The Mystery of DHCMT

[Dim13]

Thought this was a really interesting article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/players-are-testing-positive-for-a-50-year-old-steroid-they-cant-explain-why/ar-BB189m9b?li=BBnb7Kz
The gist is that some players have been testing positive for this old, East German steroid and they all claim to have to have no idea how it is possible. This is what Michael Chavis tested positive for a few years ago, as well as Chris Colabello, who is leading the charge here.

The players are saying they have had no contact with DHCMT at all, which seems to go against the scientific community. But one of the questions is just how long traces of this can stay in the system and how much of it can prove that an athlete is actively, or had recently, taken it.

Looks like the MLBPA recently made a proposal to allow a certain amount of DHCMT in a sample before it is considered positive because of the uncertainty of how long this stays in the system.

 

[djbayko]

Without passing judgement on the players' claims, I think the fact that this steroid is 50 years is a red herring. Weren't a lot of today's steroids developed back in the 50's and 60's? In fact, I'd have to look up the details, but I'm pretty sure that one of the tactics places like BALCO and Biogenesis relied upon was searching for drugs that were so old that they had fallen out of use and off of the testing radar. So called "designer drugs" aren't necessarily chemicals being engineered in a lab today.

 

[Marciano490]

Agreed. I thought they were saying it hasn’t been produced in 50 years. The steroids Arnold and Franco were taking 40-50 years ago - dbol, tren, testosterone (not technically a steroid I don’t think) - are still the most common today. “Why would I be so dumb as to take such a dumb steroid” is a Vizzini type excuse when getting caught.

That said, I wonder if they’re all using the same commercial supplement. Awhile back, some supplement company (MuscleTech?) was caught cutting their whey protein with some steroid and I think the preworkout jack3d was adding meth to its recipe.

 

[Tangled Up In Red]

I think the preworkout jack3d was adding meth to its recipe.

Damn, that is ballsy

 

[Mantush]

That said, I wonder if they’re all using the same commercial supplement. Awhile back, some supplement company (MuscleTech?) was caught cutting their whey protein with some steroid and I think the preworkout jack3d was adding meth to its recipe.

The original Jack3d had DMAA in it, which is a derivative of amphetamine. Analogues of DMAA are actually making a comeback in the supplement world.

There was a peer-reviewed article published awhile back that estimated that around 10% (I think) of all exercise supplements contained either banned stimulants or steroids. It wouldn't surprise me if these were all accidental (purposeful?) spikings, but on the other hand, Turinabol (DHCMT) is a very popular steroid today because it improves strength and muscle endurance with minimal bloat and other side effects, so I can see baseball players going out of their way to take it too.

 

[Marciano490]

The original Jack3d had DMAA in it, which is a derivative of amphetamine. Analogues of DMAA are actually making a comeback in the supplement world.

There was a peer-reviewed article published awhile back that estimated that around 10% (I think) of all exercise supplements contained either banned stimulants or steroids. It wouldn't surprise me if these were all accidental (purposeful?) spikings, but on the other hand, Turinabol (DHCMT) is a very popular steroid today because it improves strength and muscle endurance with minimal bloat and other side effects, so I can see baseball players going out of their way to take it too.

Oh DHCMT is turinabol? Yeah. Lots of people still use Turinabol. That article is silly then.

And any poster who can school me on amphetamines should be an automatic member.

 

[kelpapa]

You just hope he has a gym connect near NYC.

 

[Marciano490]

You just hope he has a gym connect near NYC.

I found a renegade gym today, so there!

 

[Devizier]

testosterone (not technically a steroid I don’t think)

Definitely a steroid. It's the ring structure that makes it so. Not only that, all the synthetic steroids are basically made to mimic testosterone (androgens).

Not to be confused with the entirely different class of corticosteroids (same basic ring structure) that suppress inflammation among other things.

 

[Marciano490]

Definitely a steroid. It's the ring structure that makes it so. Not only that, all the synthetic steroids are basically made to mimic testosterone (androgens).

Not to be confused with the entirely different class of corticosteroids (same basic ring structure) that suppress inflammation among other things.

Bro science fails again (“test isn’t a steroid so I’m technically not juicing.”). Thanks for the correction!

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

There’s an article on this in the athletic today

https://theathletic.com/3256364/2022/04/20/mlb-changes-ped-oral-turinabol-dhcmt/?amp=1

I don’t have a sub so have not been able to read it. I play pick up hoops with Chris Colabello and have talked to him a bit about his playing career and suspension. He’s a good dude and has always seemed honest to me. It’s heart breaking to hear what he went through after the suspension if he indeed did not take anything.

 

[simplicio]

There’s an article on this in the athletic today

https://theathletic.com/3256364/2022/04/20/mlb-changes-ped-oral-turinabol-dhcmt/?amp=1

I don’t have a sub so have not been able to read it. I play pick up hoops with Chris Colabello and have talked to him a bit about his playing career and suspension. He’s a good dude and has always seemed honest to me. It’s heart breaking to hear what he went through after the suspension if he indeed did not take anything.

The long and short of it is they've made some changes regarding the substance to the JDA but nobody will say what they are, the union was pushing for a published threshold but nobody will say if they got it, and the JDA won't be finished and available for months. But a couple players (who also don't know what the changes are) who have been suspended say that they've been informed that the changes support their cases.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Here's a pretty interesting article on DHCMT from last fall. Apparently it's why the Russian Olympians tested positive.

https://www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/a-mlb-lawsuit-could-call-dhcmt-adrvs-into-question/

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

The long and short of it is they've made some changes regarding the substance to the JDA but nobody will say what they are, the union was pushing for a published threshold but nobody will say if they got it, and the JDA won't be finished and available for months. But a couple players (who also don't know what the changes are) who have been suspended say that they've been informed that the changes support their cases.

Thank you for the synopsis.

Do you think the lack of transparency has something to do with what @djbayko mentioned earlier in the thread about the science of PEDs staying ahead of the testing?

 

[simplicio]

Publishing a threshold is a bit of a double edged sword, as it gives actual cheaters a metric too.