Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (AAS)

The market for top performing athletes in sports in the 21st century is a competitive one. Athletes are pushed to, be stronger, an heal from injuries faster. With the pressure to do well and get picked up by a professional team of sorts goes without saying that hard work is a must to elevate ones professional athletic career, but what if one has reached a plateau or hit a wall in a training regimen and just can not seem to push through? When some athletes hit the proverbial wall when training they turn to steroids. Ruth Wood in an article titled Anabolic Steroids: A Fatal Attraction? Writes, “Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are drugs of abuse. Despite bans on steroid use, Olympic

In 1937, the invention of anabolic steroids were developed for synthetic hormone growth for those who lacked producing those hormones. The administration of anabolic steroids can be done though injecting it directly in your bloodstream or swallowing steroid capsules. Latter ways to use steroids is to apply transdermal skin patches. Anabolic steroids is the most common term used when referring to steroids, and there are two significant effects after use: enhances male characteristics(androgenic) and promotes cell growth(anabolism). The side effects of steroids are depended on the sex who uses it. Men, for example, experience the growth of small great tissues (gynecomastia) which can be removed through surgery. In addition to having low sperm count, shrinkage of the testicles, and baldness, these negative side effects are dentremetral to their health. On the other hand, women experience masculinity characteristics from the usage of steroids; they experience an abundance of hair growth, their voice becomes deeper, shrinkage of breasts, and the increase in size of their vagina occurs. Although the negative side effects depend on their gender, the most common negative characteristc in both male and female arehighblood pressure, kidney damage, acne, cardiovascular problems, high cholesterol, and short temper. When

Anabolic-androgenic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs has always been a forbidden thing in sports, but have just recently come into the spotlight again. According to Machado and Cortez-Pinto, “Anabolic–androgenic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, the main male sex hormone” (280). Athletes mainly take anabolic-androgenic steroids to

Some people use steroids with the hope of improving their ability to hit farther, run faster, lift extra weight, jump compared to other things higher and have more the ability to work hard for a long time or patience. In most of the countries, including United States, the usage of anabolic steroids without a doctor's prescription is against law. Androstenedione is a type of anabolic steroid that is used by athletes who wish to build their muscles. However, it is a mistake in thinking, as research suggests, that Androstenedione, if taken in large amount or doses every day, can increase testosterone level significantly, leading to different health

Many athletes around the world such as Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez and Marion Jones have confided in anabolic-androgenic steroids to gain muscle mass, as well as strength, however, there are countless negative side effects that come along with the need to be buff. Anabolic-androgen steroids are defined as synthetically produced alternatives of the naturally occurring male sex hormone testosterone. Anabolic relates to building muscle, and androgenic relates to amplified male sexual characteristics. While the goals of consuming this drug relates in larger muscle mass and augmented strength, side effects that occur from this lead to long-term effects that sometimes can end up deadly.

Anabolic androgenic steroids play an important role in the pharmaceutical industry and have many beneficial effects on sick patients. According to the Parssinen and Seppala the authors of the article “Steroid Use and Long-Term Health Risks in Former Athletes” they state that “Anabolic steroids and testosterone are effective and well tolerated pharmaceutical agents when administered for proper medical indications such as androgen replacement therapy, osteoporosis, aplastic anemia, and cancer.” (Parssinen, Seppala, pg. 1). The issue is that the abuse of steroids have increased within athletes and many doctors are concerned of the adverse effects that it will have.

Anabolic steroids are used as performance-enhancing drugs to increase the ability to do work and exercise by stimulating muscle growth and power. This increase function comes with a cost of potentially life-threatening side effects. The complications of anabolic steroid abuse are a result of excess testosterone affecting almost all the organ systems in the body. Some of the effects are reversible and decrease when the drug abuse stops while other are permanent. Life-threatening side effects include heart attack and stroke, the risk of forming blood clots, liver cancer, and liver failure. The skin is often affected by excess steroid use and the issues are similar to the adolescent male going through puberty with its testosterone spike. Acne

     Anabolic Steroids are synthetic compounds formulated to be like the male sex hormone testosterone. Many athletes use anabolic steroids male and female alike, such as body builders, weightlifters, baseball players, football players, swimmers, and runners. They do so because they mistakenly believe that they will gain strength and size. In a male, testosterone is released by the leydig cells in the testes.

Anabolic steroids have been around since they have been discovered in the 1930’s. ( Who Discovered them?) They are used to significantly increase the rate at which a person’s muscles grow. Since this discovery, bodybuilder’s and athletes have abused the drug to gain an advantage over the other players. In 1990, congress passed the Anabolic Steroids Control Act. This placed anabolic steroids in the same legal class as amphetamines, methamphetamines, opium, and morphine. A year later, Major League Baseball banned steroids, but only started performing tests for it in 2003 which had 104 players test positive. These rules and laws were made to keep the players safe and to also level the playing field. Most people do

Anabolic steroids have been used and taken by humans for over half a century. The effects they provide have developed large ongoing debates as to whether these substances should be allowed to the general public. Anabolic steroid in short provide the human body a much grander potential to build muscle by helping the cells within the body produce more muscle fibers at an astonishing rate that could never be achieved naturally. Many issues have arisen like health problems relating to these drugs have stirred studies like that “Eighty-three percent of steroid users in a study had a low pumping capacity that was linked to increased risk of heart failure and sudden cardiac

Like other hormones, steroids are synthesized in the cells of an endocrine gland, secreted into the blood stream and then travel to the target organs (Scovell 2004). Their hydrophobic nature makes a muscle cell store more nitrogen, which facilitates muscle growth. They are related to the male sex hormone, androgen. Although it is illegal to keep or distribute these drugs for non-medical purposes, many professional and amateur athletes take them to improve performance. The danger appears to lie specifically in the un-regulated dosage. Athletes take as many as 100 times the prescribed or regulated dose for medical use. This exposes the users to both short-term and long-term health

The hypothesis that was tested with this experiment is that boys who are underweight tend to victimize themselves and have depressive symptoms more than young males that don’t see themselves as underweight. Blashill purpose was to know how if these feelings is what lead them to start using Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS).

    Anabolic-androgenic steroids are a group of hormones, which includes the natural male hormone, testosterone, and a number of synthetic compounds. "Anabolic" refers to muscle building, while "androgenic" refers to increased masculine characteristics. Anabolic effects are basically muscle growth. Androgenic effects produce secondary male sex characteristics like facial hair, body hair, deepening of the voice, and so on. In the 1950's scientists were trying to isolate the muscle building properties without the masculinizing effects. This lead to the development of synthetic anabolic steroids.

In male patients, testosterone also helps the male reproductive organs. Mistaken as only a male hormone, testosterone is also found in females. Although for females it is in lower dosages or smaller amounts. The average adult male in one day can produce a total amount anywhere from 2.5-11 milligrams of testosterone. An average steroids abuser injects themselves with 100 or more milligrams of testosterone a day (Anabolic Steroids). Originally, steroids were developed to increase strength of German soldiers in the 1930’s during World War II (Anabolic Steroids). Modern medicine restricts the use of anabolic steroids with only a couple exceptions such as bone marrow stimulations, growth stimulations, stimulations of appetite, and perseveration of muscle mass. Anabolic steroids also are used to help treat breast cancer and angioedema which side effects can result in swelling of the face, arms, legs, throat, windpipe, bowels, or sexual organs(Anabolic Steroids). There are many different types of steroids some of the most common legal types in the United States including boldenone (Equipoise), ehtlestrenol (Maxibolin), fluoxymesterone (Halotestin), methandriol, methandrostenolone (Diannabol), methyltestosterone, nandrolone, (Dyrabolin DecaDurabolin), oxandrolone (Anavar), oxymetholone (Anadrol), stanozolol (Winstrol), testosterone including sustanon, and trenbolone (Finajet). This is not including the many illegal imitation anabolic

However, steroids should remain illegal because they physically deteriorate the whole body system. When injected one risks the chances of developing hematoma and contracting AIDS. In women steroids contribute to the growth of facial hair, enlargements of the clitoris, shrinkage of the uterus, sterility, deepening of the voice, decrease in breast size and irregularity of the menstrual cycle. In men steroids cause shrinkage of the testicles, decrease in sperm count, sterility, impotence, prostate enlargement and growth of female breast. In both men and women hair loss, liver ailments, acne, atherosierosis and cancer are very common. This dangerous drug shortens the life span up to twenty years and increases the chance of obtaining diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. The side effects and reactions from enduring anabolic steroids are endless.