WHAT IS MELDONIUM?
* The drug, which is also known as mildronate, is used to treat ischemia: a lack of blood flow to parts of the body.
* The drug, developed in Latvia and not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States, increases blood flow which improves exercise capacity in athletes.
* WADA found "evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance".
Maria Sharapova addresses the media regarding her failed drug test.Credit: Getty Images
* The decision to add it to the banned list was approved on September 16, 2015, and it came into effect on January 1, 2016.
* It is classed as an S4 substance under the WADA code, which addresses hormone and metabolic modulators.
* A memo was sent out by Russia's anti-doping agency last September informing them of the decision.
* Sharapova says she has been taking the drug for 10 years after she was regularly falling ill, had a magnesium deficiency and family history of diabetes.
* Fellow Russian athlete and Olympic gold medallist figure skater Ekaterina Bobrova admitted to testing positive to the drug on Monday.
*The New York Times reports that Maria Sharapova is at least the seventh athlete to test positive to the now-banned substance this year.
AAP