It was the time of late 1930s when the substances, popularly called as anabolic steroids were first time developed for the treatment of diminished functional activity of the gonads, Which is incompetence of the gonads, especially because of less production of testosterone in males, diminished functional activity of the gonads is the condition in which sufficient testosterone is not produced in male testes for normal growth, development, and functioning. It results in deficient development of secondary characteristics in prepubertal males, a body with tall legs and a short trunk.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic, or human-made, variations of the male hormone testosterone. The accurate term for these compounds is anabolic-androgenic steroids. "Anabolic" refers to muscle building, and "androgenic" refers to increased male characteristics.
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.
Anabolic steroids were primarily produced for medical treatment. First they used to treat delayed puberty, and few types of impotence. Later, many scientists conducting studies on anabolic steroids found that these steroids could facilitate the development of skeletal muscles in laboratory animals. The studies led to the use of anabolic steroids in the treatment of wasting of the body because of HIV infection or various other diseases. However, the developing triggering property of anabolic steroids also led to bad of anabolic steroids by bodybuilders, weightlifters, athletes, and jocks in many sports. Anabolic steroids are one of the most popular as well as one of the most controversial drugs these days. They are available in many brands in the market. Anabolic steroids are present in as oral anabolic steroids, can be injected anabolic steroids, and anabolic steroid gels or creams. These drugs are mostly taken in the pattern called CYCLING, which means taking doses of anabolic steroids over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and starting again. Anabolic steroids are used in stacks, and this way of using steroids is called STACKING, which shows using anabolic steroids combining different types of steroids. Anabolic steroids are taken in stacks by bodybuilders or other power jocks. It is the belief that stacking anabolic steroids help to produce an effect on muscle size that is greater than the effects of using each drug individually. Another popular way of using anabolic steroids is PYRAMIDING, which is called the process in which steroid users step up the use of steroids slowly. They increase the number of drugs used at one time and/or the dose and frequency of one or more steroids, reaching the highest amount at mid-cycle and slowly narrowing the dose toward the end of the cycle.
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.
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
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