anabolic steroid
Function: noun
: any of a group of usually synthetic steroid hormones that increase constructive metabolism and are sometimes abused by athletes in training to increase temporarily the size of their muscles
anabolic steroid
an·a·bol·ic ster·oid (plural an·a·bol·ic ster·oids)
noun
1. synthetic hormone: a synthetic steroid hormone that increases muscle mass and strength. It is sometimes used by weightlifters and other athletes.
2. hormone: a naturally occurring hormone that promotes tissue growth
Quick definitions (Anabolic steroid)
noun: any of a group of synthetic steroid hormones used to stimulate muscle and bone growth; more than 100 have been developed and each requires a prescription to be used legally in the United States; sometimes used illicitly by athletes to increase their strength
Anabolic steroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Anabolic steroids are a class of natural and synthetic steroid hormones that promote cell growth and division, resulting in growth of muscle tissue and sometimes bone size and strength. Testosterone is the best known natural anabolic steroid, as well as the best known natural androgen.
Most anabolic steroids act by activation of androgen receptors. Results of androgen receptor activation are traditionally divided into anabolic and virilizing effects.
Examples of anabolic effects:
Increased amino acid incorporation into protein synthesis
Increased muscle mass and strength
Increased appetite
Increased bone remodelling and growth
Stimulation of bone marrow and increased production of red blood cells
Examples of virilizing effects:
Growth of a child's penis or a clitoris (an adult penis does not grow indefinitely even if exposed to high doses of androgens)
Increased growth of androgen-sensitive hair (pubic hair, beard, chest, limbs)
Increased vocal cord size, deepening the voice
Increased libido (sex drive)
Suppression of endogenous sex hormones
Impaired spermatogenesis
Many androgens are metabolized to compounds which also cross-react with estrogen receptors, producing an additional set of (usually) unwanted effects:
Accelerated bone maturation (in children)
Increased breast growth (in males)
A hormone with purely anabolic effects would have many uses, but in many cases the usefulness is limited by unwanted virilizing effects. Many of the synthetic anabolic steroids were devised in an attempt to find molecules that produced a higher degree of anabolic rather than virilizing effects.
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Medical uses
Anabolic steroids were tried by physicians for many purposes in the 1940s and 1950s with variable success. Disadvantages outweighed benefits for most purposes, and in recent decades the medical uses in North America and Europe have been restricted to only a few conditions.
Bone marrow stimulation: For decades, anabolic steroids were the mainstay of therapy for hypoplastic anemias not due to nutrient deficiency, especially aplastic anemia. Anabolic steroids are slowly being replaced by synthetic protein hormones that selectively stimulate growth of blood cell precursors.
Growth stimulation: Anabolic steroids were used heavily by pediatric endocrinologists for children with growth failure from the 1960s through the 1980s. Availability of synthetic growth hormone and increasing social stigmatization of anabolic steroids led to discontinuation of this use.
Stimulation of appetite and preservation of muscle mass: Anabolic steroids have been given to people with chronic wasting conditions such as cancer and AIDS.
Induction of male puberty: Androgens are given to many boys distressed about extreme delay of puberty. Testosterone is now nearly the only androgen used for this purpose but synthetic anabolic steroids were often used prior to the 1980s.
Anabolic steroids have been marketed to doctors for simple stimulation of children's appetite in developing countries, even long after such use had been abandoned in developed countries because of side effects.
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Use and abuse in athletics and bodybuilding
During the 1990s, anabolic steroid use became a national concern in the competitive sports. These drugs are used by track and field athletes, weight lifters, bodybuilders, shot putters, cyclists, professional baseball players and others to give them a competitive advantage, and improve their physical appearance or to allow them to better compete with others who have a physical advantage, perhaps from a more fortunate natural endowment or from steroid use as well. Steroid use for these purposes is a violation of the laws of the United States (since anabolic steroids are "controlled substances") and other countries. Steroid use to obtain competitive advantage is prohibited by the rules of the governing bodies of many sports, and officially condoned by none.
According to the 1999 Monitoring the Future Study, the percentage of eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders in the United States who reported using steroids at least once in their lives has increased steadily over the past four years (an average of 1.8 percent in 1996, 2.1 percent in 1997, 2.3 percent in 1998, and 2.8 percent in 1999). In addition, steroid use to enhance athletic performance is no longer limited to high school males; a 1998 Pennsylvania State University study found that 175,000 high school girls nationwide reported taking steroids at least once in their lifetime.
Concerns over a growing illicit market and prevalence of abuse combined with the possibility of harmful longterm effects of steroid use led the U.S. Congress in 1991 to place anabolic steroids into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances 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. Most illicit anabolic steroids are sold at gyms, competitions, and through mail operations. For the most part, these substances are smuggled into the United States. Anabolic steroids commonly encountered on the illicit market include: boldenone (Equipoise), ethlestrenol (Maxibolin), fluoxymesterone (Halotestin), methandriol, methandrostenolone (Dianabol), methyltestosterone, nandrolone (Durabolin, DecaDurabolin), oxandrolone (Anavar), oxymetholone (Anadrol), stanozolol (Winstrol), testosterone (including sustanon), and trenbolone (Finajet). In addition, a number of counterfeit products are sold as anabolic steroids.
Physical side effects include elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels, severe acne, premature baldness, reduced sexual function, and testicular atrophy. In males, abnormal breast development (gynecomastia) can occur. In females, anabolic steroids have a masculinizing effect, resulting in more body hair, a deeper voice, smaller breasts, masculinized or enlarged clitoris, and fewer menstrual cycles. Several of these effects are irreversible. In adolescents, abuse of these agents may prematurely stop the lengthening of bones, resulting in stunted growth. Serious medical illness can result from extreme hormone use. Enlargement of the heart (the heart is a muscle and thus affected by the muscle-building qualities of the hormones) is a risk, which increases the chance of a cardiac event occurring in later life. Another major health risk is long-term liver damage, particularly if the anabolic steroid compound is 17-alpha-alkylated in order to make it more available when taken orally.
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. In the 1950s, however, 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.
On October 22nd, 2004, President Bush signed into law the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 (S.2195). The bill was written to become effective in 90 days, which as of this writing would appear to be January 20, 2005. This new legislation places both anabolic steroids and prohormones on a list of controlled substances.
