Montreal, 8 October 2019
Dear Colleagues,
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announces the publication of the following new Technical Letters (TL) which were approved by WADA’s Executive Committee (ExCo) at its meeting on 23 September 2019 in Tokyo, Japan:
TL-18: in-situ formation of testolactone
This new TL includes guidance regarding the interpretation and reporting of possible detection of testolactone in urine samples, which may result from the in-situ transformation of DHEA.
TL-19: in-situ formation of prednisone and prednisolone
This new TL includes clarification regarding the possible detection of prednisone and/or prednisolone in urine samples, which may result from the in-situ transformation of cortisone and cortisol, respectively.
TL-20: in-situ formation of specific substances with a steroid structure
This new TL includes clarification regarding the possible detection of Prohibited Substances with a steroid structure in urine samples, which may result from the in-situ transformation of endogenous steroids.
All WADA-accredited Laboratories are kindly requested to implement these three new Technical Letters with immediate effect.
About Technical Letters
WADA publishes Technical Letters on an ad-hoc basis in order to provide instruction and guidance to the WADA-accredited Laboratories, WADA-approved Laboratories for the Athlete Biological Passport and other stakeholders on particular issues related to the analysis, interpretation and reporting of results for specific Prohibited Substance(s) and/or Prohibited Method(s) or on the application of specific Laboratory procedures. Technical Letters are modified and/or withdrawn by WADA as deemed appropriate.
The Technical Letters constitute a WADA Laboratory standard document which supersedes any previous publication on a similar topic and becomes an integral part of the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL), and therefore the described technical recommendations are mandatory and shall be implemented as soon as possible after approval by WADA’s ExCo and publishing on WADA’s website.
A Technical Letter shall be applied to samples which are received by the Laboratory on and after the Technical Letter’s effective date.
Previously issued Technical Letters are available and indexed on WADA’s website.
Should you have any questions regarding the above Technical Letters, we kindly invite you to contact WADA’s Science Department at [email protected].
Best regards,
World Anti-Doping Agency
Name: WAKO Europe