THE EFFECTS OF SALMETEROL ON POWER OUTPUT IN NONASTHMATIC ATHLETES

Background: Salmeterol xinafoate is a new aerosol inhalant that is use d in the treatment of asthma. It is currently banned by the Internatio nal Olympic Committee because of the concern that it may lend an unfai r competitive advantage to the user. Objective: The purpose of this st udy was to determine whether salmeterol improves short-term anaerobic performance in elite nonasthmatic track cyclists, Methods: Eleven elit e track cyclists volunteered to perform a 30-second all-out cycle ergo meter test 3 hours after receiving either 42 mu g of salmeterol xinafo ate or placebo applied in a double-blind crossover procedure, During t he ergometer test, peak power output, total work, time to peak power, and percent fatigue (decline in power output) were measured, Pulmonary measurements were also taken before and at various time points after inhalation and the ergometer test. A methacholine challenge was admini stered to each subject before participation in the study to ensure tha t none of the subjects had any reactive airway diseases, Results: Ther e were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the placebo and s almeterol trials for peak power output, total work performed during th e 30-second test, percent fatigue, and time to peak power, No differen ces between trials were observed for the pulmonary function test varia bles at any of the time points, Blood lactate concentrations before an d after administration of drug or placebo were also not significantly different between trials, Additionally, salmeterol did not affect the maximal heart rate achieved during the test as compared with the place bo, Conclusion: Short-term salmeterol use within the prescribed dosage was not shown to increase short-term power output in nonasthmatic cyc lists.