Spin (House)

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"Spin"
House episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 6
Directed by Fred Gerber
Written by Sara Hess
Featured music Solomon Burke - None of Us Are Free
Original air date November 15, 2005 (2005-11-15)
Guest actors
Season 2 episodes
List of House episodes

"Spin" is the sixth episode of the second season of House, which premiered on Fox on November 15, 2005.

Summary

In this episode of House, a well-known cyclist by the name of Jeff has decided to cycle a non-profitable charity race to raise money for the kids in the town. When more than half way through the race he is suddenly unable to breathe, he is then taken to the hospital. House finds it surprising that Jeff admitted to doctors that he in fact is taking illegal enhancement drugs. He agreed to blood doping, which is very common among cyclist among other illegal enhancements. Blood doping is the action of increasing the body’s number of red blood cells to better ones athletic performance. Because red blood cells carry oxygen between the lungs and the muscles, a higher number of red blood cells can increase an athlete’s endurance. While trying to figure out what cause of Jeff’s respiratory distress, they find an embolus in his chest. While Dr. Chase works to remove the air bubble, Jeff begins to feel numbness in his legs. He tells the doctor about his feeling but he is told that it might be due to the sedation. While his manager talks to the press, Jeff loses feeling in his legs. Dr. Cameron informs House that Jeff’s red blood count is continuing dropping, revealing that his body is no longer able to produce red blood cells on its own. Throughout the episode House slowly becomes convinced that Jeff might have lied about a specific drug that could be the cause of all of his symptoms, Erythropoietin (EPO), which is a hormone produced in the kidney that promotes the formation of red blood cells by the bone marrow. Adding more blood cells increases the oxygen level in the blood, thus presumably causing all of Jeff's symptoms as he fails to produce red blood cells on his own. Which is explanation for him also having Anemia, caused by a chronic Acquired Pure Red Cell Aplasia (PRCA) which is an acquired disease, probably resulting from his use of blood doping. After responding to a Prednisone treatment Jeff began losing more red blood cells to the point of requiring a transfusion. House instructs to go scan his neck and a Thymoma is discovered; an extremely rare tumor on the Thymus, which is a small organ in the upper chest. This confirming that he wasn’t taking EPO, but he did have Chronic Acquired Pure Red Cell Aplasia. Due to the diagnosis he can legally blood dope, or get a Thymectomy which could only bring him into a temporary remission, and then after he would have to be on medical steroids.

References

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External links

fr:La Course au mensonge