Steroids Information

Anabolic steroids are androgenic and therefore produce androgenic effects in the body. Androgens stimulate myogenesis which is the formation of muscular tissue. Androgens are known to cause hypertrophy of both types (I and II) of muscle fibers however the mechanism of this is not completely understood and there are a few accepted mechanisms through which this may occur. It’s widely understood that supraphysiological doses of testosterone in non-hypogonadal men promotes nitrogen density and increases fat free mass (muscle mass) while at the same time decreasing fat, particularly abdominal fat. The increase in muscle mass is mostly skeletal muscle increases and are likely caused by an increase in the synthesis of muscle proteins or possibly a decline in the breakdown in muscle proteins.[6] It has also been hypothesized[7] that androgens regulate body composition by promoting the commitment of mesenchymal pluripotent cells into myogenic lineages and inhibiting their differentiation into adipogenic lineages. However, androgens may also play an anticatabolic role in inhibiting skeletal muscle atrophy through antiglucocorticoid action independent of the androgen receptor.[8]

The mechanisms of action differ depending on the specific anabolic steroid. Different types of anabolic steroids bind to the androgen receptor to varying degrees depending on their chemical structure. Anabolic steroids such as methandrostenolone do not bind strongly to the androgen receptor and instead directly affect protein synthesis or glycogenolysis: while steroids such as oxandrolone bind tightly to the androgen receptor and act mostly on transcription.

- Brodsky, IG; P Balagopal and KS Nair (1996). Effects of testosterone replacement on muscle mass and muscle protein synthesis in hypogonadal men–a clinical research center study. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 81, 3469-3475.
- Singh, Rajan; Jorge N. Artaza, Wayne E. Taylor, Nestor F. Gonzalez-Cadavid and Shalender Bhasin (2003 Nov). “Androgens Stimulate Myogenic Differentiation and Inhibit Adipogenesis in C3H 10T1/2 Pluripotent Cells through an Androgen Receptor-Mediated Pathway.”. Endocrinology. 11 (144): 5081-8. DOI:10.1210/en.2003-0741. PMID 12960001. Retrieved on 2007-02-07. 
- Hickson, RC; Czerwinski SM, Falduto MT, Young AP. (1990 June). “Glucocorticoid antagonism by exercise and androgenic-anabolic steroids.”. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 22 (3): 331-340. PMID 2199753. Retrieved on 2006-11-24. 

History of Anabolic Steroids

Further information: War on Drugs, Controlled Substances Act
Comments on professional athletes in ancient Greece suggest that a wide variety of natural steroidal substances were used to promote androgenic and anabolic growth. These may have ranged from testicular extracts to plant materials. Traditional medicine in general, in the West as well as in contemporary Asian medicine, has a wide pharmacopeia of substances intended to promote virility and masculine traits, though not entirely oriented towards muscle growth and athletic ability so much as sexual performance. In Chinese traditional medicine substances such as deer antler, tiger bone, bear gall bladder, ginseng and other roots and much more were all primarily consumed and were thought to bolster the male organism, though there is no scientific evidence such potions have any effect.

Modern pharmaceutical anabolic steroids are believed to have been inadvertently discovered by German scientists in the early 1930s, but at the time the discovery was not considered significant enough to warrant further study. The first known reference to an anabolic steroid in a US weightlifting/bodybuilding magazine is testosterone propionate in a letter to the editor in Strength and Health magazine in 1938. In the 1950s, scientific interest was rekindled, and methandrostenolone (Dianabol) was approved for use in the United States by the federal Food and Drug Administration in 1958 after promising trials had been conducted in other countries.

Throughout the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and even ’80s there was doubt that anabolic steroids were anything more than a placebo effect. In a 1972 study,[1] participants were informed they would receive injections of anabolic steroids on a daily basis, but instead had actually been given placebo. They reportedly could not tell the difference, and the perceived performance enhancement was similar to that of subjects taking the real anabolic compounds. This study had many flaws including inconsistent controls and insignificant doses. According to Geraline Lin, a researcher for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, at the time of the books’ publishing in 1996, the results of the study remained unchallenged for 18 years.[2] In the 1996 study mentioned above which was founded by the NIH it examined the effect of high doses of testosterone enanthate (600 mg/week intramuscularly for 10 weeks). The results showed a clear increase in muscle mass and decrease in fat mass in those who took the testosterone opposed to the placebo. No adverse reactions were noted.[3]

In the late 1980s the U.S. Congress had been considering placing anabolic steroids under the controlled substance act due to recent controversy over Ben Johnson’s victory at the 1988 summer Olympics in Seoul. During deliberations the AMA, DEA, FDA as well as the NIDA all opposed listing anabolic steroids as controlled substances citing the fact that use of these hormones simply doesn’t lead to the physical or psychological dependence required for scheduling under the Controlled substance act. However the U.S. Congress in the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 placed anabolic steroids into Schedule III of the Controlled substance act (CSA). The CSA defines anabolic steroids as any drug or hormonal substance chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone (other than estrogens, progestins, and corticosteroids) that promotes muscle growth. By the early 1990s after anabolic steroids were scheduled in the United States several pharmaceutical companies stopped manufacturing or marketing the products in the United States, including Ciba, Searle, Syntex and others.

In addition, an entire market for counterfeit drugs emerged at this time. Never seen in the previous 30 years of their availability on the U.S. market, computers and scanning technology made the ease of counterfeiting legitimate products by utilizing their original label design, and the market was flooded with products that contained everything from mere vegetable oil to toxic substances which unsuspecting users injected into themselves, of which some died as a result of blood poisoning, methanol poisoning or subcutaneous abscess.

On January 20, 2005, the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 took effect, amending the Controlled Substance Act to place both anabolic steroids and prohormones on a list of controlled substances, making possession of the banned substances without a prescription a federal crime.[4]

References
- Medicine and Science in Sports, Anabolic steroids: the physiological effects of placebos. (Ariel & Saville, 1972). 
- Lin, Geraline (1996). Anabolic Steroid Abuse ISBN 0-7881-2969-4 
- a b Bhasin, S; Woodhouse L, Casaburi R, Singh AB, Bhasin D, Berman N, Chen X, Yarasheski KE, Magliano L, Dzekov C, Dzekov J, Bross R, Phillips J, Sinha-Hikim I, Shen R, Storer TW (2001 Dec). “Testosterone dose-response relationships in healthy young men.”. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 6 (281): E1172-81. PMID 11701431. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.  
- News from DEA, Congressional Testimony, 03/16/04. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.

Anabolic androgenic steroids are a class of natural and synthetic steroid hormones that promote cell growth and division, resulting in growth of several types of tissues, especially muscle and bone. Different anabolic androgenic steroids have varying combinations of androgenic and anabolic properties, and are often referred to in medical texts as AAS (anabolic/androgenic steroids). Anabolism is the metabolic process that builds larger molecules from smaller ones.

Anabolic steroids were first discovered in the early 1930s and have since been used for numerous medical purposes including stimulation of bone growth, appetite, puberty, and muscle growth. The most widespread use of anabolic steroids is their use for chronic wasting conditions, such as cancer and AIDS. Anabolic steroids can produce numerous physiological effects including increases in protein synthesis, muscle mass, strength, appetite and bone growth. Anabolic steroids have also been associated with numerous side effects when administered in excessive doses and these include elevated cholesterol (increase in LDL, decreased HDL levels), acne, elevated blood pressure, hepatotoxicity, and alterations in left ventricle morphology.

Today anabolic steroids are controversial because of their widespread use in competitive sports and their associated side effects. While there are numerous health issues associated with excessive anabolic steroid use, public understanding of the true risks remains limited. Anabolic steroids are controlled in a few countries including the United States, where they are listed as Schedule III in the Controlled Substances Act, as well as Canada and Britain who also have laws controlling their use and distribution.

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