The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports reviewed a recent rash of positive drug tests for the banned stimulant synephrine during its January 4-6 meeting in Indianapolis.

The committee’s drug-education and drug-testing subcommittee noted that positive tests for synephrine have not been common until recently. CSMAS members believe the increase is because supplement companies are putting synephrine into their products to replace ephedrine, which was banned in supplement products by the Food and Drug Administration.

“Synephrine is a stimulant and can be used as an energy booster,” said CSMAS Chair Michael Krauss. “It also can be used as a weight-loss type of product that can be used the same way ephedrine and caffeine have been used in the past. It’s another in a long list of stimulants that will rev up your heart rate, increase your blood pressure and decrease your appetite.”

Last fall, the CSMAS alerted athletic trainers and institutional compliance officers about the risks of supplements containing synephrine, causing a positive drug test. That message reiterated the suggestion that student-athletes should avoid taking supplements before they check to see if it contains any substance on the NCAA Banned Drug List.

“In general, we hadn’t seen a positive test for synephrine in a long time until we had more than a few in the last six months,” said Krauss, the sports medicine team physician at Purdue University.

The committee also recommended that The National Center for Drug Free Sport, which administers the NCAA drug-testing program, develop a proposal to expand year-round testing in Division I, which would include testing during the summer. CSMAS members noted that the initiative would cost about $150,000, an allocation that would come from Association-wide funds.

Segments of the membership support increased testing in baseball and summer testing in football.

“If you are talking about testing for anabolic steroids and other substances that are performance enhancing — and since we haven’t routinely tested in May, June and July — it leaves a pretty big gap during the year when student-athletes might choose to use those types of drugs,” Krauss said.

Logistics, though, are the main concerns, Krauss noted.

“It will require significant membership education because we’re going to have to know where the kids are in the summer,” Krauss said. “It will be on the coaches to update a squad list and have contact information for their kids. Cell phone numbers would be a key ingredient.”

On safety issues, the committee recommended to the Football Issues Committee that tinted eye shields no longer be allowed in football. The CSMAS believes new technologies such us polycarbonate goggles and tinted contact lenses are available to satisfy the medical needs previously addressed through tinted eye shields.

The medical community has supported transparent eye shields because they enhance on-field medical evaluations — athletic trainers and team physicians can see a student-athlete’s eyes in the event of a head injury.

In 1999 when the tinted eye shield exception went into effect, 26 student-athletes requested their use. The number of requests has increased every year, reaching an unwieldy 402 requests before the 2005 season.

In other action, the CSMAS explored ways to increase membership participation in the Web-based NCAA Injury Surveillance System. Because of the time it takes to report injuries in the system, committee members believe they are not receiving enough information that will allow them to make effective decisions to help rules committees develop safety policies.

“Athletic trainers already are stretched for time,” Krauss said. “There is some talk that the NCAA may require certain institutions to enter data for certain sports. For example, you could require 70 institutions that sponsor lacrosse to enter data. That way we can have good data to make recommendations on questions that come up about safety when it comes to lacrosse.”

Other highlights

Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports

January 4-6/Indianapolis

• Noted that the NCAA Executive Committee has granted the CSMAS permission to amend examples under banned-drug classes in the NCAA Manual. The banned classes (for example, stimulants, anabolic steroids, diuretics) still will be in the Manual, but student-athletes and athletics administrators should refer to www.ncaa.org/health-safety as the official source for banned substances.

• Approved adding anabolic agents to the list of medical exceptions that can be requested. If a student-athlete has testosterone prescribed for a legitimate medical condition such as Klinefelter Syndrome, which causes a person to not produce testosterone, or hypogonadism, where not enough testosterone is produced, the student-athlete could request approval in advance to use the drug without jeopardizing eligibility for testing positive for a banned substance.

• Discussed the committee’s collaboration with U.S. Rowing to monitor weight-management policies for lightweight rowing. A pilot program is scheduled to be implemented this spring with a voluntary team.

• Agreed that promoting awareness among the membership about mental-health issues will continue to be a point of emphasis for the committee.

• Agreed to send an open letter to Division I athletics directors in May regarding best practices for summer conditioning and preseason practice.

• Encouraged conferences to establish a sports medicine advisory panel to develop guidelines in areas such as medical waiver process.

Synephrine sources

Following are products containing synephrine, a stimulant added to many supplements to replace ephedrine, as of  January 30. Synephrine is an NCAA banned substance that has created a recent rash of positive drug tests for student-athletes.

• Thermolife Injecto Fuel

• Advocare MNS Max Appetite Control

• EAS Piranha Energy Drink

• FSI Nutrition Ultra Figura

• WorldWide Extreme Thermo Rush

• Nutrex Lipo 6

• Universal Nutrition Animal  M-Stak

• Twinlab Ripped Fuel Ephedra Free

• Cortislim

• D&E Orange Rush

• ANSI Thermo Hydroxadrine Drinks

• ANSI Xtreme Shock

• S.A.N. Tight

• BSN Thermonex EF

• Primaforce SYNEBURN

• Cytodyne Xenadrine EFX

• German American Technologies Jetfuel

• Universal Nutrition Animal Cuts

• Pharmagenx Ventilean