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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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1 5 - 1 2 - 2 0 0 4 Potentially dangerous medicines
By Benny Mozes
The results of a recently published study made significant waves outside of the professional community. In a controlled experiment, it was found that in patients suffering from narrowing of the coronary arteries and whose blood pressure is normal, medication for lowering blood pressure significantly reduces the risk of additional heart disease.
At the beginning of the year, a professional committee in the United States adopted recommendations that again lower the desired level of cholesterol. These recommendations were based on clinical research demonstrating that medication for lowering the level of cholesterol prolongs life and leads to a reduction in disease, even when the patient's basic levels of cholesterol before beginning this treatment are quite low, well under the normal level (the average in the population).
These studies pose a challenge to one of the fundamental principles of medicine - the concept of "the normal [average] person." The overarching idea at the basis of this concept, which was presented for the first time in Paris in 1831, is the principle of comparability. We check the condition of each individual by comparing him to what is normal, typical and prevalent. According to this concept, normality is a theoretical notion of ideological significance. The typical and prevalent is the desirable.
Most of the efforts of scientific medicine are invested in defining, as accurately as possible, the range of the norm in developing diagnostic means for identifying exceptions to it, and in implementing and checking the chemical substances for correcting these irregularities - returning the anomalous to the range of normality, or as close as possible to it.
The attempts to enlist conventional medication in improving an individual's functioning began quite a few years ago, outside of the institutional frameworks. There are now more and more people who are considered normal according to existing standards, but who are using drugs developed to rectify abnormalities in an effort to improve their functioning in various fields.
Many athletes have used and are using steroids to improve their physical capabilities. Men of various ages are using Viagra to improve their sexual abilities. Many students use Ritalin, which is prescribed for children with attention and concentration disorders, to improve their academic achievements. [ErGs]
Pharmaceutical companies have responded immediately to change and have begun to develop medication for people defined as normal - for example, drugs for improving the memory.
At first glance, it appears that this change in the traditional conception is great news. Improving personal abilities is likely to enable many people to realize the "good life" they seek, however they may define this. Moreover, there is solid evidence that shifting the boundaries of normality in a population would significantly reduce the number of those defined as irregular or ill. A country that manages to adjust the traits of "the average person" and lower the average blood pressure in the population significantly reduces the number of exceptions requiring treatment.
However, whoever sees the gates of Eden should not forget that hell is also nearby. An inability to control the effect of the chemical substances on the fragile equilibrium existing in the complex physiological system of the human body is liable to cause damage. Many fine people wish to improve their memory. But who would seriously consider, before taking a pill to improve the memory, the importance of forgetfulness in living a normal life? A real danger exists that the wild competition in the free market and the slick marketing operations of the pharmaceutical firms will push many people into acquiring medication for improving their capabilities in any possible way, while ignoring all of the associated dangers.
And indeed, the most serious danger of all is that medicine aimed at elevating an individual's abilities, when managed under free market conditions, will become the preserve of a very narrow sector. The affluent will acquire an additional improvement in their abilities, and social polarization would grow even further. The "strong" class would be sick less, live longer and significantly improve its economic and social situation.
Even those who believe there is no place for such "empowerment medicine" in a society based on justice and fairness must prepare for the new reality that is developing. Extra caution should be taken in examining new technologies designed to improve abilities. Clinical studies should be required to check a wide range of indexes, and the follow-up period for the test subjects should be a long one.
In addition, mechanisms should be created to enable affirmative action. There should be greater access provided to weaker segments of society for medicines approved for personal improvement. This could be done through information campaigns via appropriate channels and government subsidies for medication.
It is hard to exaggerate the importance of the trend toward adjusting the boundaries of normality. Only a full understanding of its significance and early preparation can allow Western society to exploit the possible advantages from this fundamental change and, most importantly, avoid a social catastrophe.
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