Midfielder of Chelsea Mykhailo Mudryk, suspected of doping, may have taken meldonium (mildronate). This is reported by the Telegram channel "TaToTake".
Mykhailo Mudryk“According to information from our sources, there is a high probability that the banned substance found in the blood of Mykhailo Mudryk is meldonium (mildronate), which has been prohibited by WADA since January 1, 2016.
What do we know about this substance? Mildronate was developed in Latvia in 1975. WADA considers the drug to be a metabolic modulator, similar to insulin. They are primarily recommended for the comprehensive treatment of ischemic heart disease. Among the indications are chronic heart failure, withdrawal syndrome from chronic alcoholism, and reduced performance and physical overexertion, particularly in athletes.
It is believed that the use of meldonium trains the body to endure stress, efficiently use oxygen, and quickly restore energy reserves in preparation for new loads. However, the effect is not proven.
This drug is mainly distributed in Russia and the Baltic countries. Historically, athletes from the Russian Federation have most often been "caught" with meldonium (the first was tennis player Sharapova), where since 2014, meldonium has been listed among the "essential and most important medications".
We reached out to one of the Ukrainian sports doctors, and he provided the following characterization of the drug:
“This drug is complete rubbish. It was taken in bulk in the old days both for the heart as a cardio-protector and for alcoholism and for anything else, but it does not have the claimed miraculous properties. It's nothing but a placebo,” the message says.
