As antidoping controls have gained wide repercussion in the media on account of their performance in great contests, much talk has ensued regarding the misuse of drugs in sports. However, the objective of this seventh international symposium, organized by the Esteve Foundation on October 2-5, 1996 in Sitges, was not to approach such a mass- media-diffused aspect. Professionals from different disciplines attended this scientific meeting to analyze the true effect of medicinal products on physical performance and to ascertain whether evidence of all possible drug-related effects on exercise truly existed. Thomas Reilly, from the Research Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences of Liverpool, and Michael Ome, from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics of the University of Liverpool, summarized the contents of this symposium in the seventh volume of the Esteve Foundation Symposia series.
