Anabolic steroids are prescribed drugs that are synthesized from male hormones, primarily testosterone. The full name of anabolic steroids is androgenic anabolic steroids. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the most frequently abused anabolic steroids are Deca-Durabolin, Durabolin, Equipoise, and Winstrol.

These drugs were used in the past to treat depression, but it is known now that they may induce depression. They are sometimes prescribed by physicians to treat children or adolescents who have growth problems. However, anabolic steroids are more commonly known for their illegal use by bodybuilders, athletes, and others who wish to improve their athletic performance and achieve greater muscle development at a much faster pace than exercise alone could provide. Sometimes law enforcement officers abuse these drugs, as do bodyguards and construction workers.

Most anabolic steroids are Schedule III drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. Federal law labeled anabolic steroids as scheduled drugs in 1991.

Some individuals who abuse anabolic steroids take different brands of steroids in complicated regimens, a practice that is known as "stacking." They may take very high doses of drugs for four to 18 weeks and then refrain from using all drugs for one to 12 months. In some cases, trainers create these detailed regimens for the steroid abuser. Some users use a method that they call "pyramiding," which means that they slowly escalate the number of drugs that are used as well as the frequency of use, after which they taper off the drugs until the next cycle.

Those who abuse anabolic steroids may take up to 100 times the therapeutic dose of the drug. Clearly this is a highly risky choice, and one that is extremely unsafe. Many abusers use at least two different steroids.

According to Timothy D. Noakes, M.D., in his 2004 article for the New England Journal of Medicine on steroid drug use among athletes, Testoviron (testosterone propionate) was first synthesized in 1936 and used by athletes in the 1948 Olympic Games. Subsequent drugs such as methandrostenolone (Dianabol), synthesized in 1958, and oral chlordehydromethyltestosterone (Turinabol), synthesized in 1966, were also used by athletes.

Says Noakes, "By increasing muscle size, these drugs increase strength, power, and sprinting speed; they also alter mood and speed the rate of recovery, permitting more intensive training and hence superior training adaptation." Noakes asserts that athletes using performance-enhancing drugs have "moved off the natural bell-shaped curve of normal human performance."

Anabolic steroids may be taken orally or by injection. They are also available in transdermal skin patches and gels. Examples of oral steroids are Anadrol (oxymetholone), Dianabol (methandrostenolone), Oxandrin (oxandrolone), and Winstrol (stanozolol). Examples of injectable steroids are Deca-Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate), Durabolin (nandrolone phenpropionate), Depo-Testosterone (testosterone cypionate), and Equipoise (bodenone undecylenate), which is a veterinary product sometimes abused by humans.

In the short term, the side effects of anabolic steroid abuse include severe acne, sexual and reproductive disorders, and fluid retention. Men who abuse these drugs may experience gynecomastia (the enlargement of a man's breasts) and atrophy of the testicles. They may also experience painful erections, decreased sperm production, and sterility.

Women who abuse anabolic steroids will experience masculinizing effects, such as an increased production of facial and body hair, enlargement of the clitoris, a deepening voice, and baldness; these effects are not reversible once they have occurred. In contrast, the short-term physical effects in men are mostly reversible. Women who abuse steroids will also experience menstrual irregularities.

Both men and women who abuse steroids may experience high blood pressure and liver disorders. They may have jaundice (yellowed skin) and an increase in cholesterol levels. They may also experience severe psychological side effects, such as mood swings that resemble the mania of bipolar disorder, depression, delusions, extreme irritability, aggression and impaired judgment stemming from a perception of invulnerability, and even psychosis. They are at risk for blood clotting disorders and heart disease.

Adolescents who abuse anabolic steroids may prematurely halt their growth cycle, resulting in the attainment of a shorter height than they would have attained had they not abused these drugs.

Violent and even murderous behavior has been noted among those who abuse anabolic steroids because of the rage and aggression that these drugs can induce when they are abused. Hall, Hall, and Chapman in their 2005 article in Psychosomatics on the psychiatric effects of the use of anabolic steroids, report that they have seen six cases of criminal behavior among individuals using anabolic steroids, including three homicides and three violent assaults. In half of these cases, there was some evidence of criminal behavior or violence before the steroid-induced violent episode occurred. Two of the three homicides were not premeditated, and they happened during a psychotic episode.

Say the authors, "In each case, an irrational thought of the patient or a minor deed of an unknown individual promoted a violent attack. The mental status of all six perpetrators cleared within weeks to 2 months, and they had specific memory of the act and of their delusional thinking at the time the act was committed."

References:

1)         Drug Enforcement Administration. Steroid Abuse in Today's Society: A Guide to Understanding Steroids and Related Substances. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, March 2004.

2)         General Accounting Office Report, "Anabolic Steroids Are Easily Purchased without a Prescription and Present Significant Challenges to Law Enforcement Officials." Washington, D.C.: General Accounting Office, GAO-06-243R, November 5, 2005.

3)         Hall, Ryan C. W., M.D., Richard C. W. Hall, M.D., and Marcia J. Chapman. "Psychiatric Complications of Anabolic Steroid Abuse." Psychosomatics 46, no. 4 (July-August 2005): 285-290.

4)         Noakes, Timothy D., M.D. "Tainted Glory--Doping and Athletic Performance." New England Journal of Medicine 359, no. 9 (August 26, 2004): 847-849.

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