Les problèmes actuels du contrôle antidopage équin

Horse race as well as human dope testing are currently progressing and detection capabilities of laboratories must improve accordingly. Biomolecules such as Erythropoietin and Growth Hormone are up to date doping agents which break the integrity of racing and welfare of horses. New improvements of mass spectrometry allow detection of small concentrations of these peptides. Qualitative determinations can be performed when the structure of the hormone administered can be distinguished from the natural form. Selected indirect markers can also be used to detect abuse of growth hormone: these markers can be insulin growth factors (mainly IGF-1), binding proteins (IGFBP-3) and some bone markers such as osteocalcin. Encouraging results are already obtained but it is necessary to support and to encourage fundamental and applied research to maintain dope testing at the highest level.     

Systèmes de vigilance : Systèmes de surveillance de santé publique

In France, reactions of public health decision makers were done step by step, within a context often marked by crises, such as that of contaminated blood. It resulted the development of multiple vigilance systems. All vigilance systems have in common a public health objective, the necessity to have information on the actions of the system of health and their consequences. In this article, we define a vigilance system as a public health surveillance system, i.e. a finalised information system, built as a continuous process of standardised collection, analysis and diffusion of data, to allow fast decision-making concerning one or more facets of the activities of the health system. We describe the activities of a vigilance system, and specify steps for implementing such a system. The article ends in a proposal for a mode of evaluation common to all vigilance systems.