Steroids (Anabolic-Androgenic) Facts

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are man-made substances related to male sex hormones. “Anabolic” refers to muscle-building, and “androgenic” refers to increased masculine characteristics. “Steroids” refers to the class of drugs. These drugs are available legally only by prescription, to treat conditions that occur when the body produces abnormally low amounts of testosterone, such as delayed puberty and some types of impotence. They are also prescribed to treat body wasting in patients with AIDS and other diseases that result in loss of lean muscle mass. Abuse of anabolic steroids, however, can lead to serious health problems, some irreversible.

Today, athletes and others abuse anabolic steroids to enhance performance and also to improve physical appearance. Anabolic steroids are taken orally or injected, typically in cycles of weeks or months (referred to as “cycling”), rather than continuously. Cycling involves taking multiple doses of steroids over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and starting again. In addition, users often combine several different types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing negative effects (referred to as “stacking”).
Health Hazards

The major side effects from abusing anabolic steroids can include liver tumors and cancer, jaundice (yellowish pigmentation of skin, tissues, and body fluids), fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in LDL (bad cholesterol), and decreases in HDL (good cholesterol). Other side effects include kidney tumors, severe acne, and trembling. In addition, there are some gender-specific side effects:

* For men – shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, increased risk for prostate cancer.
* For women – growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, deepened voice.
* For adolescents – growth halted prematurely through premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes. This means that adolescents risk remaining short for the remainder of their lives if they take anabolic steroids before the typical adolescent growth spurt.

In addition, people who inject anabolic steroids run the added risk of contracting or transmitting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis, which causes serious damage to the liver.

Scientific research also shows that aggression and other psychiatric side effects may result from abuse of anabolic steroids. Many users report feeling good about themselves while on anabolic steroids, but researchers report that extreme mood swings also can occur, including manic-like symptoms leading to violence. Depression often is seen when the drugs are stopped and may contribute to dependence on anabolic steroids. Researchers report also that users may suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment stemming from feelings of invincibility.1

Research also indicates that some users might turn to other drugs to alleviate some of the negative effects of anabolic steroids. For example, a study of 227 men admitted in 1999 to a private treatment center for dependence on heroin or other opioids found that 9.3 percent had abused anabolic steroids before trying any other illicit drug. Of these 9.3 percent, 86 percent first used opioids to counteract insomnia and irritability resulting from the anabolic steroids.2

Extent of Use

Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey*

MTF annually assesses drug use among the Nation’s 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students. Steroid use among all three grades assessed remained unchanged from 2005 to 2006, for both boys and girls, although significant reductions were noted since 2001 for lifetime** use. Past year use was reported by 0.9 percent of 8th-graders, 1.2 percent of 10th-graders, and 1.8 percent of 12th-graders in 2006. Perceived risk of steroid use, which is collected only for seniors, increased significantly, from 56.8 percent in 2005 to 60.2 percent in 2006. Disapproval of steroid use, also collected only for seniors, did not change significantly from 2005 to 2006.

“Steroids Done Right” details the exact steps I followed over my six week cycle to allow you to easily, quickly and most importantly safely copy my results and achieve your own muscle building goals!

References:

1 Pope, H.G., and Katz, D.L. Affective and psychotic symptoms associated with anabolic steroid use. American Journal of Psychiatry 145(4):487-490, 1988.

2 The New England Journal of Medicine 320:1532, 2000.

* These data are from the 2006 Monitoring the Future Survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, and conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The survey has tracked 12th-graders’ illicit drug use and related attitudes since 1975; in 1991, 8th- and 10th-graders were added to the study. The latest data are online at www.drugabuse.gov.

“Lifetime” refers to use at least once during a respondent’s lifetime. “Past year” refers to use at least once during the year preceding an individual’s response to the survey. “Past month” refers to use at least once during the 30 days preceding an individual’s response to the survey.

Colon Cancer (Colorectal Cancer)

What is cancer?

Cancer is a group of more than 100 different diseases. They affect the body’s basic unit, the cell. Cancer occurs when cells become abnormal and divide without control or order. Like all other organs of the body, the colon and rectum are made up of many types of cells. Normally, cells divide to produce more cells only when the body needs them. This orderly process helps keep us healthy.

If cells keep dividing when new cells are not needed, a mass of tissue forms. This mass of extra tissue, called a growth or tumor, can be benign or malignant.

Benign tumors are not cancer. They can usually be removed and, in most cases, they do not come back. Most important, cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. Benign tumors are rarely a threat to life.

Malignant tumors are cancer. Cancer cells can invade and damage tissues and organs near the tumor. Also, cancer cells can break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. This is how cancer spreads from the original (primary) tumor to form new tumors in other parts of the body. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.

When cancer spreads to another part of the body, the new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary tumor. For example, if colon cancer spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are colon cancer cells. The disease is metastatic colon cancer (it is not liver cancer).

What is cancer of the colon and rectum?

The colon is the part of the digestive system where the waste material is stored. The rectum is the end of the colon adjacent to the anus. Together, they form a long, muscular tube called the large intestine (also known as the large bowel). Tumors of the colon and rectum are growths arising from the inner wall of the large intestine. Benign tumors of the large intestine are called polyps. Malignant tumors of the large intestine are called cancers. Benign polyps do not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body. Benign polyps can be easily removed during colonoscopy and are not life-threatening. If benign polyps are not removed from the large intestine, they can become malignant (cancerous) over time. Most of the cancers of the large intestine are believed to have developed from polyps. Cancer of the colon and rectum (also referred to as colorectal cancer) can invade and damage adjacent tissues and organs. Cancer cells can also break away and spread to other parts of the body (such as liver and lung) where new tumors form. The spread of colon cancer to distant organs is called metastasis of the colon cancer. Once metastasis has occurred in colorectal cancer, a complete cure of the cancer is unlikely.

Globally, cancer of the colon and rectum is the third leading cause of cancer in males and the fourth leading cause of cancer in females. The frequency of colorectal cancer varies around the world. It is common in the Western world and is rare in Asia and Africa. In countries where the people have adopted western diets, the incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing.

Viruses and Liver Cancer (Perspectives in Medical Virology) (Hardcover)

M. Colombo
…an excellent source of referenced information on the biology of liver cancer for hepatologists.
Digestive and Liver Disease

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most important complications of chronic viral hepatitis. It usually results in a fatal outcome if not discovered in its earliest stages. Its close association with the hepatitis B and C viruses makes it one of the first human cancers for which there is strong evidence of a viral cause. For this reason it provides a model for studying viral carcinogenesis in humans.

In some countries, HCC is one of the most common tumors of adult men. In addition, there is evidence that the incidence of this cancer has doubled in the past 15 to 20 years in many countries, and the incidence has doubled every 20 years for the past half century in Japan. In some studies, the increase has been shown to be due primarily to cases associated with HCV infection.

Molecular studies of HCC show that mutations in oncogenes, in various cellular repair pathways, and in tumor suppressor genes together appear to contribute to the development of this cancer. In HCCs associated with hepatitis B virus, the virus itself can interact with tumor suppressor proteins and other cellular signals in ways that probably permit HCC to develop even when there are no mutations in the genes for these signals.

Viruses and Liver Cancer (Perspectives in Medical Virology) (Hardcover)

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