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    Research On Anabolic Steroids

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    Anthony Sanglay, Jr.
    This document discusses research on anabolic steroids, including what they are, how people misuse them, their effects on the brain and body, their addictive potential, and treatment options.

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    Research On Anabolic Steroids

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    Anthony Sanglay, Jr.
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    This document discusses research on anabolic steroids, including what they are, how people misuse them, their effects on the brain and body, their addictive potential, and treatment options.

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    Good way to assess the intake of anabolic steroids

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    Research on Anabolic Steroids

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    This document discusses research on anabolic steroids, including what they are, how people misuse them, their effects on the brain and body, their addictive potential, and treatment options.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    39 views6 pages

    Research On Anabolic Steroids

    Uploaded by

    Anthony Sanglay, Jr.
    This document discusses research on anabolic steroids, including what they are, how people misuse them, their effects on the brain and body, their addictive potential, and treatment options.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 6

    Research on Anabolic Steroids

    What are anabolic steroids?


    Anabolic steroids are synthetic, or human-made, variations of the male sex hormone
    testosterone. The proper term for these compounds is anabolic-androgenic steroids.
    "Anabolic" refers to muscle building, and "androgenic" refers to increased male sex
    characteristics. Some common names for anabolic steroids are Gear, Juice, Roids, and
    Stackers.

    Photo by NIDA

    Health care providers can prescribe steroids to treat hormonal issues, such as delayed
    puberty. Steroids can also treat diseases that cause muscle loss, such as cancer and
    AIDS. But some athletes and bodybuilders misuse these drugs in an attempt to boost
    performance or improve their physical appearance.

    The majority of people who misuse steroids are male weightlifters in their 20s or 30s.
    Anabolic steroid misuse is much less common in women. It is difficult to measure
    steroid misuse in the United States because many national surveys do not measure it.
    However, use among teens is generally minimal. The 2016 NIDA-funded Monitoring the
    Future study has shown that past-year misuse of steroids has declined among 8th and
    10th graders in recent years, while holding steady for 12th graders.

    How do people misuse anabolic steroids?


    People who misuse anabolic steroids usually take them orally, inject them into muscles,
    or apply them to the skin as a gel or cream. These doses may be 10 to 100 times
    higher than doses prescribed to treat medical conditions.

    Commons patterns for misusing steroids include:

     cycling—taking multiple doses for a period of time, stopping for a time, and then
    restarting

     stacking—combining two or more different steroids and mixing oral and/or


    injectable types

     pyramiding—slowly increasing the dose or frequency of steroid misuse, reaching a


    peak amount, and then gradually tapering off to zero

     plateauing—alternating, overlapping, or substituting with another steroid to avoid


    developing a tolerance

    There is no scientific evidence that any of these practices reduce the harmful medical
    consequences of these drugs.

    How do anabolic steroids affect the brain?

    Photo by ©Shutterstock.com/Aftrica Studio

    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 directly activate the reward system to cause a “high”; they also do not trigger rapid
    increases in the brain chemical dopamine, which reinforces most other types of drug
    taking behavior.

    Misuse of anabolic steroids might lead to negative mental effects, such as:

     paranoid (extreme, unreasonable) jealousy

     extreme irritability and aggression (“roid rage”)

     delusions—false beliefs or ideas


     impaired judgment

     mania

    What are other health effects of anabolic


    steroids?
    Anabolic Steroids and Infectious Diseases

    People who inject steroids increase their risk of contracting or transmitting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis.

    Read more about this connection by visiting:

     DrugFacts: Drug Use and Viral Infections


     Viral Hepatitis—A Very Real Consequence of Substance Use

    Aside from mental effects, steroid use commonly causes severe acne. It also causes the
    body to swell, especially in the hands and feet.

    Long-Term Effects

    Anabolic steroid misuse might lead to serious, even permanent, health problems such
    as:

     kidney problems or failure


     liver damage and tumors

     enlarged heart, high blood pressure, and changes in blood cholesterol, all of which
    increase the risk of stroke and heart attack, even in young people

     increased risk of blood clots

    Several other effects are gender- and age-specific:

     In men:

     shrinking testicles

     decreased sperm count

     baldness

     development of breasts

     increased risk for prostate cancer

     In women:

     growth of facial hair or excess body hair

     decreased breast size

     male-pattern baldness

     changes in or stop in the menstrual cycle

     enlarged clitoris

     deepened voice

     In teens:

     stunted growth (when high hormone levels from steroids signal to the body to stop bone growth too
    early)

     stunted height (if teens use steroids before their growth spurt)

    Some of these physical changes, such as shrinking sex organs in men, can add to
    mental side effects such as mood disorders.
    Are anabolic steroids addictive?
    Even though anabolic steroids do not cause the same high as other drugs, they can
    lead to a substance use disorder. A substance use disorder occurs when a person
    continues to misuse steroids, even though there are serious consequences for doing so.
    The most severe form of a substance use disorder is addiction. People might continue
    to misuse steroids despite physical problems, high costs to buy the drugs, and negative
    effects on their relationships. These behaviors reflect steroids' addictive potential.
    Research has further found that some steroid users turn to other drugs, such as
    opioids, to reduce sleep problems and irritability caused by steroids.

    People who misuse steroids might experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop
    use, including:

     fatigue

     restlessness

     loss of appetite

     sleep problems

     decreased sex drive

     steroid cravings

    One of the more serious withdrawal symptoms is depression, which can sometimes lead
    to suicide attempts.

    How can people get treatment for anabolic


    steroid addiction?
    Some people seeking treatment for anabolic steroid addiction have found a combination
    of behavioral therapy and medications to be helpful.
    In certain cases of addiction, patients have taken medicines to help treat symptoms of
    withdrawal. For example, health care providers have prescribed antidepressants to treat
    depression and pain medicines for headaches and muscle and joint pain. Other
    medicines have been used to help restore the patient's hormonal system.

    Points to Remember
     Anabolic steroids are synthetic variations of the male sex hormone testosterone.

     Health care providers can prescribe steroids to treat various medical conditions. But some athletes and
    bodybuilders misuse these drugs to boost performance or improve their physical appearance.

     People who abuse anabolic steroids usually take them orally, inject them into the muscles, or apply them
    to the skin with a cream or gel.

     People misuse steroids in a variety of doses and schedules.

     Misuse of anabolic steroids might lead to short-term effects, including paranoid jealousy, extreme
    irritability and aggression, delusions, impaired judgement, and mania.

     Continued steroid misuse can act on some of the same brain pathways and chemicals that are affected by
    other drugs, including dopamine, serotonin, and opioid systems.

     Anabolic steroid misuse might lead to serious long-term, even permanent, health problems.

     Several other effects are gender- and age-specific.

     People who inject steroids increase their risk of contracting or transmitting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis.

     Even though anabolic steroids do not cause the same high as other drugs, they can lead to addiction.

     Some people seeking treatment for anabolic steroid addiction have found behavioral therapy and
    medications to be helpful. Medicines can help treat symptoms of withdrawal in some cases.

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