special subjects
Anabolic Steroids
Introduction
Anabolic steroids are synthetic (man-made) versions oftestosteronethat are used to increase muscle size. Anabolic steroids are hormones that promote muscle growth and increase strength and energy. Anabolic steroids can also have many side effects, including psychologic (mood swings, aggressive behavior, irritability) and physical (acne, masculinizing effects in women, breast enlargement in men). These substances can be detected in urine for up to 6 months. Treatment involves stopping use. (See also Overview of Substance-Related Disorders .) Anabolic steroids include the hormonetestosteroneand related drugs. Anabolic steroids have many physical effects, including promoting muscle growth and increasing strength and energy. Thus, these drugs are often used illegitimately to gain a competitive edge in sports. Users are often athletes, typically football players, wrestlers, bodybuilders, or weight lifters, and most users are male. levels ( Effects of Aging on the Male Reproductive System ) and sometimes to prevent muscles from wasting away in people who are confined to bed or who have severe burns, cancer, or AIDS. The drugs may be taken by mouth, injected into a muscle, or applied to skin as a gel or in a patch. Athletes may take steroids for a certain period, stop, then start again several times a year. This process is called cycling. Athletes also often use many steroids at the same time (a practice called stacking), and they take them by different routes (by mouth, injection, or patch). They may also increase the dose through a cycle (called pyramiding). Pyramiding may result in very high doses. Cycling, stacking, and pyramiding are intended to enhance desired effects and minimize harmful effects, but little evidence supports these benefits. At doses used to treat disorders, anabolic steroids cause few problems. However, athletes may take doses 10 to 50 times these doses. 