Könnte Nickel ein neues erythropoietisch wirksames Dopingmittel werden?

Rude and violent behavior in sports is sometimes called "nickelig" in German language. Ironically, recent evidence suggests that nickel may be misused in sports (19). Nickel belongs to group 10 of the current IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) periodic classification of elements. It shares properties with iron and cobalt, the latter being a prohibited substance according to the regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) (7, 21). Under experimental conditions, ionic nickel can induce hypoxia-like responses, possibly promoting red blood cell production (1). This knowledge calls into question whether the recent detection of a nickel-enriched product claiming performance- enhancing properties, is indicative of attempts to undermine current human and animal doping controls (19, 20).