
Diuretics and Masking Agents
- Acetazolamide
- Amiloride
- Bumetanide
- canrenone
- Chlorthalidone
- Ethacrynic acid
- Furosemide
- Indapamide
- Metolazone
- Spironolactone
Are diuretics and masking agents performance enhancing?
Diuretics and masking agents are not performance enhancing but they are chemicals that aid in helping evade doping tests by hiding or preventing the detection of banned substances such as steroids. Diuretics are the simplest form of masking agent. These are substances that help with passing fluid rapidly, diluting the urine and evading detection.
What are diuretics used for?
The abuse of diuretics as performance-enhancing drugs and masking agents in sport doping: pharmacology, toxicology and analysis Diuretics are drugs that increase the rate of urine flow and sodium excretion to adjust the volume and composition of body fluids.
Do diuretics mask other prohibited substances in sport?
Diuretic use for the masking of other prohibited substances remains a serious problem, however. Analysis of diuretics General remarks For the detection of diuretics in urine in sports doping, a single minimum required performance level (MRPL) of 250 ng·mL−1is fixed by WADA for accredited laboratories (WADA, 2009e).
What are doping masking agents?
Masking agents are chemicals that have the potential to interfere with the integrity of doping tests or the classification of competition (e.g., weight category in wrestling). Masking agents on the WADA prohibited list include Diuretics, Probenecid, and Plasma Expanders, but other substances that carry similar effects are also banned at all times.

What are diuretics?
Diuretics, sometimes called water pills, help rid your body of salt (sodium) and water. Most of these medicines help your kidneys release more sodium into your urine. The sodium helps remove water from your blood, decreasing the amount of fluid flowing through your veins and arteries.
What are drug masking agents?
What Does Masking Agent Mean? A masking agent is a substance used in order to try to conceal the presence of prohibited drugs in his or her system. Usually, the masking agent is ingested with the purpose of diluting or hiding any banned substance the person has consumed.
What drugs can diuretics mask?
plasma expanders, e.g. intravenous administration of albumin, (dextran, hydroxyethyl starch, mannitol).Acetazolamide.amiloride.bumetanide.canrenone.chlortalidone.etacrynic acid.furosemide.indapamide.More items...
Which is the example of masking agent?
Potassium cyanide is an effective masking agent for large quantities of cations; similarly triethanolamine and 2,3 dimercaptopropanol have been employed in several studies [17-20].
Why do athletes use diuretics?
Diuretics are drugs that change your body's natural balance of fluids and salts (electrolytes), which can lead to dehydration. This loss of water can decrease an athlete's weight, which many athletes prefer.
What is the role of masking agent in solvent extraction?
In solvent extraction, the masking agents are used to prevent certain metal ions from forming extractable complexes and thus, they increase the selectivity.
What are the different types of diuretics?
The three types of diuretic medications are called thiazide, loop, and potassium-sparing diuretics. All of them make your body excrete more fluids as urine....Thiazide diureticschlorthalidone.hydrochlorothiazide (Microzide)metolazone.indapamide.
Does Lasix mask other drugs?
Arthur explained that Lasix does not necessarily mask other drugs. Instead, because it is a diuretic, it causes the dilution of urine, which makes it harder to find other drugs in tests. “It is a diluting agent,” he said.
What is the best diuretic for high blood pressure?
One of the most commonly prescribed thiazide-like diuretics is chlorthalidone. Studies show that it may be the best diuretic to control blood pressure and prevent death.
Is EDTA a masking agent?
EDTA as Masking Agent in Selective Spectrophotometric Determination of Copper with Triethylenetetramine. An Interpretation of Masking. Analytical Chemistry. EDTA as Masking Agent in Selective Spectrophotometric Determination of Copper with Triethylenetetramine.
What are masking and Demasking agents give examples?
In sports, a masking agent is used to hide the detection of a banned substance or some illegal drugs like anabolic steroids or may be stimulants. Diuretics are the most common form of masking agent and they work by enhancing the water loss via urine excretion.
Is iron a masking agent?
Interference by iron, copper, aluminium and zinc is suppressed by including triethanolamine, thiourea, fluoride, acetylacetone or cyanide in the buffer as masking agents. Species such as iron or copper can completely prevent the pre-concentration of lead.
Are masking agents detectable?
The presence of these adulterants cannot be detected by routine specimen integrity check (pH, specific gravity, creatinine and temperature). It is important to choose a test strip that can detect the presence of these adulterants along with specific gravity, creatinine and pH in urine.
Is EDTA a masking agent?
EDTA as Masking Agent in Selective Spectrophotometric Determination of Copper with Triethylenetetramine. An Interpretation of Masking. Analytical Chemistry. EDTA as Masking Agent in Selective Spectrophotometric Determination of Copper with Triethylenetetramine.
Which masking agent is used for masking the aluminium and iron?
Answer: For the selective demasking of aluminium, we employed triethanolamine, which also reacts with iron. To avoid interference by iron, ascorbic acid was added before the addition of KCN, ensuring that iron and manganese (if present) are reduced and complex with cyanide.
Why do athletes take furosemide?
Abstract. Furosemide is included in the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of prohibited substances because it can be used by athletes to mask the presence of performance-enhancing drugs in urine and/or excrete water for rapid weight loss.
Definition
Masking agents (such as diuretics) are used to falsify the results of doping controls and to conceal doping. Substances suitable for this purpose are therefore included in the Prohibited List of the WADA.
Effect of diuretics
Diuretics affect the function of the kidneys and thus alter the body's fluid and salt balance (electrolytes: potassium, sodium and phosphorus). They affect various transport systems in the kidney and thus increase the excretion of urine. Body weight is reduced and urine is diluted.
Side effects and consequences of diuretics abuse
Diuretics massively eliminate fluid and minerals from the body. This disturbs the body's water and salt balance. As a result, acute loss of blood pressure, heart rate irregularities and circulatory shock can occur. Additionally, the thickened blood increases the risk of thrombosis.
Affected sports
Because of their concealing effect, diuretics and other masking agents can be abused in all sports. In recent years, positive doping controls have emerged in canoeing, taekwondo, football, fencing and cycling.
What is the purpose of diuretics?
Diuretics are therapeutic agents that are used to increase the rate of urine flow and sodium excretion in order to adjust the volume and composition of body fluids or to eliminate excess of fluids from tissues (Jackson, 2006).
Why are diuretics used in athletes?
Diuretics are often abused by athletes to excrete water for rapid weight loss and to mask the presence of other banned substances.
How many diuretics were detected in 2008?
In 2008, diuretics represented 7.9% of all Adverse Analytical Findings reported by WADA laboratories, with a total number of 436 cases (WADA, 2009a). All classes of diuretics were represented in the positive cases; hydrochlorothiazide was the most common diuretic detected, with 137 cases. Table 1summarizes the statistics of positive diuretic findings by all WADA laboratories from 2003 to the present. In all six of the past years, all classes of diuretics have been represented in the positive findings (WADA, 2004; 2005; 2006; 2007; 2008a; 2009a;). Over the years, the total number of occurrences has been increasing; this trend of increasing positive findings may be due not only to an increase in abuse, but is likely due to improved methods of detection.
How does osmotic diuretics work?
By extracting water from intracellular compartments, osmotic diuretics expand the extracellular fluid volume, decrease blood viscosity and inhibit renin release . This results in an increase of the urinary excretion of all electrolytes, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, HCO3-and PO43−. Their use is limited to well-defined clinical situations, for instance, mannitol is used to reduce cerebral oedema and brain mass before and after neurosurgery, in acute tubular necrosis as a renal protector (Levinsky and Bernard, 1988), and for the treatment of dialysis disequilibrium syndrome. Because osmotic diuretics extract water from the eye and brain, they are all used to control intraocular pressure during acute attacks of glaucoma and in ocular surgery.
How long does Na+channel inhibitor last?
Na+channel inhibitors show low oral bioavailability and great differences in half-life (more than 20 h for amiloride, less than 5 h for triamterene ). The route of elimination is predominantly renal for intact amiloride while triamterene is extensively metabolized into the active 4-hydroxytriamterene sulphate and excreted in urine. The most common adverse effects of Na+channel inhibitors are nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, leg cramps and dizziness. The most dangerous adverse effect of Na+channel inhibitors is hyperkalemia. Triamterene can also reduce glucose tolerance and induce photosensitization.
Which class of diuretics was the most abused in 2008?
Inhibitors of the Na+/Cl-symporter were the most abused class of diuretics in 2008 according to WADA statistics, accounting for 38.7% of positive samples. Hydrochlorothiazide was the most detected diuretic, found in 31.4% (137) of positive samples (WADA, 2009a).
What drugs are on the prohibited list?
Substances on the Prohibited List include anabolic androgenic steroids, glucocorticosteroids, peptide hormones and their modulators, hormone antagonists and their modulators, stimulants, β2-agonists, narcotics, alcohol, β-blockers, cannabinoids and diuretics and masking agents (WADA, 2009b).
What are the side effects of diuretics?
Diuretics and masking agents may cause one or more of the following side-effects: •Dehydrat ion •Decreased circulation of blood volume (hypovolemia) •Decreased levels of body potassium (hypokalemia) •Heart rhythm abnormalities (cardiac arrhythmias) •Muscle cramps and muscle weakness •Hypotension •Kidney stones and other renal problems •Headache •Intestinal problems •Allergic reactions and anaphylactic shocks
Why are diuretics used in sports?
The reason of the misuse of diuretics in sports is because athletes may need to regulate body mass and achieve rapid weight loss in sports where weight categories are involved (judo, boxing, weight lifting, etc.) and to shape muscle profile (body building). Diuretics may also be used by athletes to hide or “mask” the presence of specific illegal drugs since the increased w ater elimination dilutes th e urine resulting in a lower concentration in the urine, making detection of such doping substances more difficult. Other Masking agents (e.g. Probenecid and epitestosterone) may be used by athletes to inhibit the renal excretion of a number of substances by retaining t he substances l onger and excreting them at a slower rate, making it more difficult to detect the substances. Plasma expanders increase the volume of plasma in the blood and may be used by athletes in an attempt to mask the effects of erythropoietin (ePO). Diuretics are medicinal products that help to eliminate fluid from the body and increase the amount of urine produced by the body. Powerful diuretics can increase the flow of urine to about 6 liters per day. In a medical setting diuretics are used to treat patients suffering from renal dysfunction. Masking agents are products that have the potential to impair the excretion of prohibited substances thereby concealing their presence in urine through increased urination.
What is the abuse of diuretics?
The abuse of diuretics as performance-enhancing drugs and masking agents in sport doping: pharmacology, toxicology and analysis. Diuretics are drugs that increase the rate of urine flow and sodium excretion to adjust the volume and composition of body fluids.
Why are diuretics used in athletes?
Diuretics are often abused by athletes to excrete water for rapid weight loss and to mask the presence of other banned substances.
Why are diuretics banned?
Because of their abuse by athletes, diuretics have been included on The World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of prohibited substances; the use of diuretics is banned both in competition and out of competition and diuretics are routinely screened for by anti-doping laboratories.
Why are diuretics called mask agents?
Diuretics are also known as “masking agents”. This is because they are meant to hide the presence of specific illegal drugs during doping tests via urine.
What is the effect of diuretics on the body?
Diuretics are drugs whose effect on the body increase the excretion of urine. This is done by increasing the renal elimination of sodium chloride.
Do diuretics cause skin irritation?
Some diuretics make the skin more sensitive to the sun. Which may generate burns, irritations (a recent study by the Danish Cancer Society states that some of these drugs may increase the risk of skin cancer).
