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Anabolic Stteroids : Annotated Bibliography : Anabolic Steroids

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Annotated Bibliography
NIDA. "Anabolic Steroids." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 4 Mar. 2016, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/anabolic-steroids. Accessed 29 Oct. 2017. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, anabolic steroids are synthetic variations of the male sex hormone testosterone. The article claims that healthcare providers can prescribe steroids for treating hormonal problems, such as late puberty. Also, steroids can also treat diseases that cause muscle losses, such as cancer and AIDS. But some athletes and bodybuilders abuse these drugs to increase performance or improve their physical appearance.
People who abuse anabolic steroids take them orally or inject them into the muscles. Anabolic steroids work differently from other drugs of abuse; they do not have the same short-term effects on the brain. The most important difference is that steroids do not trigger rapid increases in the chemical dopamine of the brain, which causes the “high” which cause people to abuse other substances. However, long-term steroid abuse may act on some of the same cerebral pathways and chemicals - including dopamine, serotonin and opiates - that are affected by other drugs. This can have a significant effect on mood and behavior. Drug abuse by steroids can lead to serious, even permanent, problems such as kidney problems or liver damage, enlarged heart, high blood pressure and changes in blood cholesterol, all that increase the risk of stroke and heart

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