Pressure "is building on Maria Sharapova" after it was revealed that the normal course of treatment for using meldonium -- the drug she says she has used for 10 years -- is "only four to six weeks," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. Sharapova "tested positive for the drug, also known as mildronate," at the Australian Open in January. It was placed on the banned list by WADA at the beginning of the year following "evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance." Sharapova said she had taken meldonium, a heart medicine which improves blood flow and is not licensed in the U.K. or U.S., since '06 "following health problems including regular sicknesses," early signs of diabetes and "irregular" results from echocardiography exams. There has been "a rash of positive tests for meldonium" since Jan. 1, mainly by athletes from eastern Europe. One anti-doping expert has described it as "a poor man’s EPO," referring to the blood-boosting agent. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that he would "hold a meeting with heads of the country’s sports federations over the use of meldonium." Mutko: "Unfortunately, I think there will be more cases." He added that the scandal would "bring joy to our 'friends'" -- an apparent reference to "critics in the West," before appearing to "blame Sharapova’s entourage." Mutko said, "The athlete does not take [the drug] by him or herself." He said he hoped "Masha" -- a diminutive of Sharapova’s first name, Maria -- would be able to compete again (LONDON TIMES, 3/8). The AP reported Latvian company Grindeks, which manufactures meldonium, said that four to six weeks is a "common course." The company said in a statement, "Depending on the patient’s health condition, treatment course of meldonium preparations may vary from four to six weeks. Treatment courses can be repeated twice or thrice a year." While Grindeks has previously stated that the drug can provide an "improvement of work capacity of healthy people at physical and mental overloads and during rehabilitation period," the company said that it believes the substance "would not enhance athletes’ performance in competition and might even do the opposite." Grindeks did not comment when asked "whether someone with the symptoms Sharapova described would be a suitable patient for meldonium" (AP, 3/8).
