What is epo???????help .does it have to do with blood replacment???

Question

my p.e teacher told us that epo is like when a playes goes to the hospital and the take blood from him and freez it then he goes and takes steroids then befor he is tested befor a game he goes to the hospital and the give him the blood back

is this tru if not then what is the blood thing

thanx 4 all the answers

Answer 1

epo is a synthetic form of a hormone produced in the body called erythropoetin. This hormone is released when there are not enough red cells in the body such as when blood is removed to be frozen. Then the body produces more red blood cells and when the blood is returned to the body before the game.  They do this so that so that more oxygen can be carried around the body in the blood and then the athlete becomes out of breath less easily.

Epo has the same effect as it increases the production of red blood cells in the body but doesn't require the removal of blood from the body.

Hope that makes sense.

Answer 2

Erythropoietin or EPO is a glycoprotein hormone that is a cytokine for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow. Also called hematopoietin or hemopoietin, it is produced by the liver and kidney, and is the hormone that regulates red blood cell production. It also has other known biological functions. For example, erythropoietin plays an important role in the brain's response to neuronal injury. EPO is also involved in the wound healing process.

Normal Results of Erythropoietin:

The normal range is 0-19 milliunits per milliliter (mU/mL).

Note: Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.

What Abnormal Results Mean:

Increased EPO levels may be due to secondary polycythemia, an overproduction of red blood cells that occurs in response to an event such as low blood oxygen levels. This may happen at high altitudes or, rarely, because of a tumor that releases EPO.

Lower-than-normal EPO levels may be seen in chronic kidney failure, anemia of chronic disease, or polycythemia vera.