Anabolic steroid
From ArticleWorld
“By 1935, testosterone had been isolated, its chemical structure identified, and the basic nature of its anabolic and androgenic effects had been recognized.” And shortly after 1936, “testosterone and testosterone acetate had become commercially available.”
The natural and synthetic steroid hormones that promote cell growth and division, which results in growth of muscle tissue, bone size and strength is Anabolic steroid. The best known natural androgen and natural anabolic steroid is testosterone. Anabolic-androgenic steroids are man-made substances related to male sex hormones. “Anabolic” refers to muscle-building, and “androgenic” refers to increased masculine characteristics. “Steroids” refers to the class of drugs. These drugs are available legally only by prescription, to treat conditions that occur when the body produces abnormally low amounts of testosterone, such as delayed puberty and some types of impotence.
Different anabolic steroids have varying combinations of androgenic and anabolic properties, and are often referred to in medical texts as AAS (anabolic/androgenic steroids). Testosterone is the best known natural anabolic steroid, as well as the best known natural androgen.
Anabolic steroids produce both anabolic and virilization effects. Most anabolic steroids work in two simultaneous ways. First, they work by binding the androgen receptor and increasing protein synthesis. Secondly, they also reduce recovery time by blocking the effects of the stress hormone, cortisol, on muscle tissue. As a result, catabolism of the body's muscle mass is greatly reduced.
Examples of anabolic effects : Increased protein synthesis from amino acids; Increased muscle mass and strength; Increased appetite; Increased bone remodeling and growth; Stimulation of bone marrow increasing production of red blood cells.
Examples of virilizing effects: Growth of the clitoris (clitoral hypertrophy) in females and the penis in male children (the adult penis does not grow indefinitely even when exposed to high doses of androgens); Increased growth of androgen-sensitive hair (pubic, beard, chest, and limb hair); Increased vocal cord size, deepening the voice; Increased libido; Suppression of endogenous sex hormones; Impaired spermatogenesi.
By the early 1990s 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 abcess.
Mental and emotional effects of anabolic steroid use run the gamut from hallucinations, depression, anxiety and paranoia to severe mood swings, irritability and even "roid rage." Recent evidence suggests that long-time steriod users and steroid abusers may experience the classic characteristics of addiction including cravings, difficulty in stopping steroids use and withdrawl symptoms. "Addiction is an extreme of dependency, which may be a psychological, if not physical, phenomena," says Dr.Wadler. "Regardless, there is no question that when regular steroid users stop talking the drug they get withdrawal pains and if they start up again tha pain goes away. They have difficulties stopping use even though they know it's bad for them."
Since anabolic steroids are often produced in different countries than in which they are distributed, they must be smuggled across international borders. Like most significant smuggling operations, sophisticated organized crime is involved, often in conjunction with other smuggling efforts.
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 a federal crime. Many of these products are no longer available from the original manufacturer and are now manufactured by "underground" laboratories in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, but are still widely available in certain countries, in most cases from a subsidiary of the original manufacturer.
Many body-builders using anabolic steroids attempt to minimize the side effects of AS by taking additional drugs to combat the various negative effects. This can lead to dangerous and sometimes fatal drug combinations and it can also lead to even more negative side effects. Using anabolic steroids outside of a doctor's care is a very dangerous and more importantly, illegal practice. To avoid the negative side effects associated with anabolic steroid use, it's best not to use them at all.