To: FINA Doping Panel members
cc: FINA Doping Control Review board members

Dear FINA Doping Panel members,

I thought that the info below will be of interest.

Sincerely,
 

Alexei Koudinov, MD, PhD
 

To: Heads of Antidoping laboratories worldwide

cc: media members

22 August 2004

Dear Colleagues,

I thought that because you head antidoping laboratories worldwide, you can evaluate my letter below and undertake necessary actions.
 

Sincerely,

Alexei Koudinov, MD, PhD
Biochemist, Neuroscientist, Editor
http://koudinov.info
http://neurobiologyoflipids.org

Competing interest declaration: None. I observe the code of responsible conduct regarding scientific communication.

Subject: Is music before competing a blood-doping cheat?

21 August 2004

Dear Dex McLuskey,

I read with interest your latest Bloomberg story on Michael Phelps, and thought that you could be interested to note/investigate my observation that hearing music (that Michael Phelps does before competing, see USOC link, Athens 2004 link, also see this two informative pages at NBC, a story and a multimedia supplement "Music by the pool") may transiently modulate oxygen supply, and thus represent a method for blood-doping (see further info at IOC Doping Control page and recent ABS-CBNNews story).

Today (Saturday, August 21) morning I placed at Google an ad bringing readers to a related research article suggesting such possibility, and reporting a method to test it. You can see this Google ad (viewed by now by a certain number of people) yourself by following this link. More articles on "oxygen and music" are available at the National Library of Medicine PubMed database .

Later on Saturday I learn about Michael Phelps sudden decision not to participate in 4x100 medley relay (see Athens 2004 web site M. Phelps Press Conference notes and ESPN story). I am not aware whether this decision is connected to my observation and its appearance at Google. 

Please let me know should you have any further questions.

I request you to pass this info to Athens games Doping Control Station Officials or to help me to find their contacts.

Sincerely,

Alexei Koudinov, MD, PhD
Biochemist, Neuroscientist, Editor
http://koudinov.info
http://neurobiologyoflipids.org
 

Article abstract quote:

"The results showed that premature infants receiving music therapy with endotracheal suctioning had a significantly higher SPO(2); than that when not receiving music therapy (p <.01), and the level of oxygen saturation returned to the baseline level faster than when they did not receive music therapy (p <.01)."

Terms explanation:

A. What is Endotracheal Suctioning?

"Endotracheal suctioning of mechanically ventilated adults and children with artificial airways." Source: AARC and Respiratory Care Journal (Respir Care 1993;38:500-504)

B. What is Spo(2), pulse oximetric saturation?

"Pulse oximetry provides estimates of arterial oxyhemoglobin saturation (SaO2) by utilizing selected wavelengths of light to noninvasively determine the saturation of oxyhemoglobin (SpO2)." Source: Respiratory Care Journal (1991;36:1406-1409)