Lots have been said about the negative sides of synthetic steroids, and only a few positive feedbacks are making it to the mainstream media. Roid rage, aggression, infertility, liver damage, hirsutism – are just a few terms associated with steroid use.

The term ‘anabolic-androgenic steroids’ conjures up images of cheating athletes, of normal people being transformed into angry, beefed up monsters. But is this perception correct?

Anabolic-androgenic steroids do have legitimate medical uses foremost of which are treatment of chronic wasting conditions in individuals suffering from HIV and AIDS, as well as decreased levels of hormones on the aged that can result to low energy, depression, sexual dysfunction, and attention deficit.

Many medical practitioners, such as sports orthopaedics expert Kevin Plancher, believe that synthetic steroids could offer a lot of medical benefits. On steroids positive effects on chronic wasting diseases, Plancher says: “Anabolic steroids have a very limited scope of legal use here in the United States. But they can be helpful in a number of critical situations, and there is research underway to study their effects in still other problematic areas where current protocols are not yielding optimal results.”

He further discusses the steroids role in particular condition like chronic wasting diseases whereby patients suffer considerable and drastic weight loss and the inability of the body to gain it back - no matter how much they eat. “Anecdotally, we hear of patients who take Anabolic Androgenic Steroids to regain lean muscle after being diagnosed with Chronic Wasting Disease, and the evidence is positive,” Dr. Plancher notes.

Likewise, several medical researches have been continually exploring the potential of anabolic-androgenic steroids in the medical therapy of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD.

Plancher, however, stresses that there is a need for the patient who is taking steroids to be closely monitored by a physician.

“Doctors whose patients are taking steroids, whether for arthritis, asthma, rehabilitation, or as an experimental treatment for a serious medical condition, should be watchful for a number of serious potential side effects,” he says. “Yet, all of these symptoms are far less likely to occur if a doctor is managing the quality, duration and dosage of the steroid therapy,” Dr. Plancher assures. “The key to successfully using these or any other drugs is to use the smallest dose of the best medication available to treat the exact duration of any given medical condition.”

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Tags: AIDS, anabolic-androgenic steroids, chronic wasting disease, COPD, decreased hormone levels, hiv, medical benefits of steroids

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A 2007 doping study on Australian world-class athletes came up with staggering fact – about 30% of athletes believe they could get away with the use of performance-enhancing drugs (anabolic steroids use). The results of this survey by Curtin University, in association with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), were released on March this year.

“It is perhaps of some concern that a substantial proportion (30 percent) of ‘Olympic/world’ athletes consider that they are unlikely to be caught if using doping out of competition, and even 7 per cent consider that they are unlikely to be caught if using doping during competition,” an ASADA report on the research said.

This reflects that Australian athletes lack faith in the ability of the country’s anti-doping agencies to catch wayward athletes who use steroids (or buy steroids) to boost their performance.

Other interesting facts gathered through the study are the following.

The proportion of athlete who might consider using steroids dropped from 16% to 8% in three years:

• More than 90% of athletes across all levels considered the use of steroids as morally and ethically wrong
• Among Olympic and world championship-level athletes, 44% said that using performance-enhancing drugs  and technologies was unnecessary
• Among the world-class athletes surveyed, 72% advocated tough penalties for doping for first offenders, and a lifetime ban for second-time offenders

The challenge now for Australia’s anti-doping agencies is to adapt new initiatives and new measures to respond to the growing problem of steroid use.

“The message that’s coming from ASADA is, ‘if we don’t get you now, we’ll get you later’,” Australian Olympic Committee chairman John Coates said. “Once there’s a realization of that, those percentages that you’ve referred to might come down.”

When kangaroos start hopping a bit higher and farther than the usual, then Australian anti-doping agencies would know they are doing a lousy job.

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According to the university of Cambridge research, testosterone levels (steroids) play significantly in profit-making ventures of individuals particularly those working at the London trading floor. It is reported that when City traders have high morning testosterone levels they make more than average profits for the rest of that day.

Testosterone is a steroid hormone which has great effect on social and sexual behavior of individuals. Countless studies conducted by scientists reported that testosterone increases confidence and penchant for risks. In the case of traders, this translates to a positive expected return.  This would also be the same with the daily use of anabolic steroids like testosterone enanthate (aka buy steroids first then use them to be a better trader).

Professor Joe Herbert, Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, states: “Market traders, like some other occupations (such as air traffic controllers), work under extreme pressure and the consequences of the rapid decisions they have to make can have profound consequences for them, and for the market as a whole. Our work suggests that these decisions may be biased by emotional and hormonal factors that have not so far been considered in any detail.”

In sports, this steroid benefits many athletes. It has been observed that testosterone levels increase in competitive encounters and exhibits further increase when positive result is experienced by an athlete, i.e. winning. A decrease is noticeable in a losing athlete. A ‘winner effect’ is thus produced; meaning, the athlete experiences further increase in his testosterone level, improving his confidence and risk taking and thus improving his chances of winning yet again.

However, the above study cautioned that if there occurred a chronic elevated testosterone level, it would cause negative backlash. That instead of propelling traders to profitable ventures and decisions via increased risk taking, it can lead to irrational decision-making.

The same can be said with the use of anabolic steroids by athletes. An ideal therapy practice can yield rewarding feedbacks. Malpractice and abuse, in contrast, can create problematic situations such as physiological and psychological issues.

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You know how Hollywood takes on anything to achieve and maintain stellar status. Let’s face it – we are still in the era of superficiality where good looks almost supersede everything else. Thus, celebrities are trying to fit into the current parameters of beauty and bankability, i.e. a well-toned and age-defying body. And they would do – and use - anything to stay on the glaring spotlight of Hollywood, including steroids. (yes celebrities do buy steroids!)

Hollywood celebrities’ techniques in keeping fat-free are myriad. The General Surgeon surely would not be happy with the chain smoking technique to keep slim; Katherine Heigl is rumored to be a practitioner of this. There is, of course, the infamous staple for slimming like cocaine and heroin and other illicit and hard-core drugs. You must have heard of Kate Moss taking in coke (and we’re not referring here to a soda brand).

Most of these stars would say their gorgeous figures are due to visits to gyms and veggie diets. Speaking of diets Beyoncè’s got an interesting recipe to stay booty – water mixed with maple syrup, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. She called it the lemonade diet. That one could really make your ears turn red. Then Stallone has stolen the limelight with his with the human growth hormone.

But the thing now is diet pills and anabolic steroids. These secret ‘weapons’ can be handy – steroids and diet pills are easy to use and easy to hide. When caught using them, celebs could usually act their way out and deliver the line “I have a prescription”, with such conviction that a star-struck agent could easily believe it.

Steroids, in the world of celluloid, could be quite indispensable props. Call them tricks of the trade because steroids indeed could transform actresses into desirable sirens and actors to some mouth-watering specimens.

Edward Norton easily comes to mind when you think of phenomenal physical metamorphosis. In most of his movies, you see him as a pale, reedy guy; then you see him with bulging biceps in American History X. He reportedly packed on 30 pounds with his role as a reformed neo-Nazi in this film. If you’re so interested with his training regimen, forget about searching it online because it’s too top secret you won’t find it online or anywhere else.

Thus, it invites several questions. Could his transformation due only to intense training and workouts? Or steroids can be partly credited? Many can’t wait to see him as the physicist Bruce Banner in The Hulk due this June to see how many pounds he has packed on this time around.

P.S. obviously anabolic steroids and human growth hormone played a huge role in  Bruce Banner - The Hulk - transformation.

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