What is Meldonium? | Drug Profile

Meldonium, sometimes called mildronate, taken by Maria Sharapova for virtually 10 years was originally designed to treat ischemia. Ischemia is a condition in which there's a reduction in blood supply to the body tissue, it also might have benefits for diabetes sufferers.

Meldonium adjusts the body's use of energy, stimulating glucose metabolism and helping to clear a fatty build up in arteries. You can get Meldonium mainly in Russia and Latvia but the drug is banned in the US.

Surprisingly, the drug was often given to Soviet troops in the 1980s to boost their stamina whilst fighting in Afghanistan. Since Maria's story came out, the manufacturers of Meldonium have come out to say the normal course of treatment is 4-6 weeks. Having said that, this all depends on dosage.

Of course, the level of the benefits depend on the dosage, something of which Maria Sharapova will need to provide strong evidence of when she goes before an ITF panel.
 

Maria Sharapova: "I've failed a drugs test" | What is Meldonium?

Former world number one, Maria Sharapova has been taking a drug called Meldonium for 10 years. On January 1^st, this year, it was entered on the banned list – Sharapova wasn’t informed and she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open.

She’s been taking it since 2006 due to persistent health issues, now, the five time grand slam champion’s not aware of the sanctions she’ll face as a consequence. Since Wimbledon last year, she’s only played four tournaments. This year, she’s only played the Australian Open. She’s currently struggling with various different injuries but it’s likely this revelation will have an even bigger effect on her 2016 schedule.

It’s quite a controversial drug – it’s used in Russia and Lithuania but USA hasn’t approved the drug. Clinically speaking, it was first used to treat angina and myocardial infarction (heart attacks). It’s also been known to help treat diabetes and some neurological issues. In her press conference, Maria said that she’s got quite a large family history of diabetes. More recent reports suggest that it can improve learning and memory. Weirdly it might also have an effect on testosterone and men’s health.

As far as sport is concerned – this is a metabolic performance enhancer. This basically means that Sharapova - amongst the health benefits she was already taking the drug for, would have an enhanced energy and a stronger heart muscle. In short – she’d have more energy and be able to last longer on the tennis court. It also would have had an improvement with movement coordination and concentration. It also has a positive effect on the energy metabolism of the body – activating the central nervous system.

At this stage, it’s unclear as to what sanctions she would face, the ITF (International Tennis Federation) in conjunction with WADA (world anti-doping agency) will look at various different factors like who gave the drug to her, was she aware of the effects? Whatever sanction she’ll face she, and her team have got  lot of explaining to do.