Questions about Anabolic steroid
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What are anabolic steroids and how do they work in the body?
Anabolic steroids, also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of drugs structurally related to testosterone, the primary male sex hormone. They work by penetrating cell membranes and binding to androgen receptors in the cytoplasm; the hormone-receptor complex then moves to the cell nucleus, where it alters gene expression, increases protein synthesis, and reduces the breakdown of muscle tissue by blocking the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.
When was testosterone first identified and synthesized?
Testosterone was first identified in a paper published in May 1935 by Karoly Gyula David, E. Dingemanse, J. Freud, and Ernst Laqueur, titled "On Crystalline Male Hormone from Testicles (Testosterone)." Its chemical synthesis was achieved in August 1935, independently by Butenandt and Hanisch and by Ruzicka and Wettstein, within one week of each other.
What are the main health risks of long-term anabolic steroid use?
Long-term or high-dose AAS use is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, increased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke, harmful shifts in cholesterol levels, liver damage (particularly with 17-alpha-alkylated oral forms), and kidney scarring called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. In adolescents, AAS can prematurely close bone growth plates and stunt adult height, while in women, effects such as voice deepening can be irreversible. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies AAS as Group 2A: probably carcinogenic to humans.
Who actually uses anabolic steroids in the United States?
Between one million and three million people in the United States, roughly one percent of the population, are estimated to have used AAS. Studies find that the majority are not competitive athletes; 78.4% of users in one survey were noncompetitive bodybuilders and non-athletes, and the typical user is a middle-class man with a median age of around 25 who uses the drugs for cosmetic purposes.
When did anabolic steroids become illegal in the United States?
AAS were added to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act by the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990, following the controversy surrounding Ben Johnson's performance at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The act was amended in 2004 to include prohormones, effective from the 20th of January 2005. Simple possession without a prescription is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison for a first offense.
What psychiatric effects have been linked to anabolic steroid use?
A 2005 review in CNS Drugs found associations between AAS use and aggression, violence, mania, psychosis, and suicide. Research found AAS users scored higher on borderline, antisocial, paranoid, and schizotypal personality profiles compared to non-users. Dependence and withdrawal have been documented among bodybuilders and weightlifters who took supraphysiologic doses, though no evidence links dependence to medically supervised therapeutic use.