Anabolic-steroids are man-made substances related to male sex
hormones. They promote growth of skeletal muscle and the development of male sexual
characteristics in both males and females. The term "anabolic steroids" will be used
throughout this module because of its familiarity, although the proper term for these
compounds is "anabolic-androgenic steroids."
"Anabolic-androgenic steroids", the synthetic substances related to
male sex hormones, are better defined by an examination of the individual terms.
"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 the loss of lean muscle
mass. However, the doses prescribed to treat these medical conditions are 10 to 100 times
lower than the doses that are abused for performance enhancement. They are dangerous
drugs and when used inappropriately, they can cause a host of severe, long-lasting, and
often irreversible negative health consequences.
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