What Is It Made Of?
Testosterone is a naturally occurring hormone in both men and women, but men produce more of it than women. At puberty—the stage of growth in which a person becomes capable of sexual reproduction—the hormone is responsible for changing a boy into a man. It causes deepening of the voice, growth of facial hair, and the maturity of the reproductive organs. It also plays an important role in the growth and development of muscles. When men are finished growing, they typically produce between 35 and 50 milligrams of natural testosterone each week throughout life. The hormone is created in the testes, the male reproductive glands.
All Steroids Are Not the Same
Anabolic-androgenic steroids should not be confused with corticosteroids. Anabolic-androgenic steroids are prescribed only for a few, very uncommon disorders, such as muscle wasting in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and men with abnormally low testosterone levels.
Corticosteroids are widely prescribed for conditions that cause inflammation, including asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, certain serious allergies, and even severe poison ivy blisters. Jacqueline Adams reported in Science World that people who take prescription corticosteroids according to a doctor's directions will not experience any of the side effects that plague abusers of anabolic-androgenic steroids.
Women also produce natural testosterone but at far lower levels than men. Female maturity is influenced chiefly by estrogen, a hormone that regulates the female reproductive system.
Synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroids are very similar to natural testosterone, except for a slightly altered carbon structure. Pill forms of steroids contain an extra chain of carbon and hydrogen atoms called an alkyl group. These can be dangerous to the liver and to cholesterolPronounced kuh-LESS-tuhr-ol; an essential substance made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that is found in animal cells and body fluids; in high amounts, it may be deposited in blood vessels, resulting in dangerous blockages of blood flow. levels when taken at high doses. Injectable steroids contain an acidic chain of carbon and hydrogen called an ester that is slightly less toxic to the liver.
Steroid Chronology
Steroids have an interesting history. How much do you know about the history of the drug?
1889 Charles Edouard Brown-Sequard (1817–1894) reports that he feels more energetic after injecting himself with a compound taken from animal testicles.
1935 The hormone testosterone is isolated in a European laboratory. Chemists quickly learn how to make synthetic versions.
1945 Survivors of Nazi concentration camps are given anabolic-androgenic steroids to help restore weight and muscle lost during periods of starvation.
1975 After years of steroid abuse by Olympic athletes, the International Olympic Committee adds anabolic-androgenic steroids to its list of banned substances and announces plans to test athletes randomly for steroid use.
1988 Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson forfeits his gold medal in the 100–meter dash after testing positive for a banned substance.
1991 Anabolic-androgenic steroids are named Schedule III drugs under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Former Pittsburgh Steeler Steve Courson (1955– ) writes False Glory: Steelers and Steroids.
2003 Federal narcotics agents raid the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), an alleged source of "designer" steroids.
2005 Former baseball star Jose Canseco writes the book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big. Major League Baseball players and management are called to testify before the U.S. Congress about steroid use in professional baseball. "Andro" is added to the Schedule III list of controlled substances. The Olympics Committee announces its decision to drop baseball and softball from the 2012 games in London, in the United Kingdom, due in part to the controversy surrounding steroid use in the sport.
Creatine and DHEA are considered dietary supplements. As of 2005, they have not been regulated as drugs by the FDA. Creatine provides fuel to muscles during periods of high exertion. DHEA is sold as an anti-aging supplement. But because DHEA turns into androstenedione in the body, it is used as a steroid. Users of either of these supplements run health risks when they exceed the doses recommended on the labels.
