Athletes using anabolic steroids for gaining muscle mass and strength could end up destroying their kidney function.

The finding was disclosed in a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology‘s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Reports of professional athletes who abuse anabolic steroids are increasingly common. Most people know that using steroids is not good for your health, but until now, their effects on the kidneys have not been known. Leal Herlitz, MD (Columbia University Medical Center) and her colleagues recently conducted the first study describing injury to the kidneys following long-term abuse of anabolic steroids. The investigators studied a group of 10 bodybuilders who used steroids for many years and developed protein leakage into the urine and severe reductions in kidney function. Kidney tests revealed that nine of the ten bodybuilders developed a condition called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a type of scarring within the kidneys. This disease typically occurs when the kidneys are overworked. The kidney damage in the bodybuilders has similarities to that seen in morbidly obese patients, but appears to be even more severe.

It was also suggested that habitual use of steroids has serious harmful effects on the kidneys that were not previously recognized.

Tags: anabolic steroids, bodybuilders, muscle mass, steroids, use of steroids

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Matthew Dean Hopkins, a 36-year-old man from Olympia, has been arrested by detectives with the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force.

Detectives served a search warrant to Hopkins at his home in the 9000 block of Skokomish Way.

From Theolympian.com:

Detectives found “32 glass vials containing a yellowish liquid” believed to be steroids in Hopkins’ home, court papers state. Hopkins was in custody at the Thurston County Jail Monday, and he has a court hearing scheduled later in the day.

Hopkins told a court official Monday that he is a professional mixed martial arts fighter, but he hasn’t participated in any bouts since last year.

Court papers state that detectives conducted a sting operation where an unidentified party affiliated with the task force purchased steroids from Hopkins.

Tags: mixed martial arts, steroids

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Trainer Howard Johnson has retired from the horse training ranks after the British Horse Association (BHA) handed a four-year ban to him.

The career of Johnson has spanned a quarter of a century and he was given three charges relating to the ‘de-nerving’ of chaser Striking Article, and six concerning the administering of anabolic steroids to three other horses.

From Horsemart.co.uk:

The BHA’s disciplinary panel told The Guardian that Johnson had shown a “cavalier indifference” to the rules of racing. Johnson admitted instructing a vet to perform a neurectomy operation on Striking Article but denied knowing that horses are not allowed to be raced after such a procedure.

The BHA told The Guardian”Johnson has shown a reckless disregard for the rules so as to jeopardise the future welfare of a gelding in training and the safety of those jockeys and stable staff who were engaged to ride it,” the panel concluded. A three-year ban would “reflect the need to remove Johnson’s right to train horses for a period of time which is more than a mere suspension of his business”.

“I knew from day one, when I went down there, I said to my lawyer, ‘We’ve got no chance here.’ “They make their own rules – it’s a bloody kangaroo court.”

Tags: anabolic steroids, Howard Johnson

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Adolpho Birch, the NFL‘s senior vice president of law and labor policy, recently said the league will drug test for steroids on game days.

NFL will use the game-day testing only for performance-enhancers and not for recreational drugs like cocaine and marijuana.

From Torontosun.com:

The new 10-year CBA that was hammered out during the NFL’s more than four- month lockout includes blood testing for human growth hormone, the first such test in any of the country’s major sports.

Details are still being hashed out, but Birch said the program is all but finalized at this point.

“The framework of the testing procedures, I think both sides would agree, is largely agreed to and I don’t expect that there will be much more need to discuss those,” he said.

As for game-day testing, Birch said the NFL has avoided it in the past because of the logistics involved.

“But we have now developed a solution that will allow us to do game-day testing in a way that is not overly disruptive to the clubs and respects the game-day process and all of the things going on,” he said.

“This is primarily a competitive issue, so we do not contemplate utilizing it for the substances-of-abuse recreational drugs,” Birch said during a conference call. “But it is something that will involve any of the potential testing we do under the steroid policy.”

Tags: human growth hormone, NFL, recreational drugs, steroid, steroids

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A Pittsfield man who had his house raided by police in July was recently arraigned, in Berkshire Superior Court on 18 drug and gun related charges.

Sean M. Begley pleaded not guilty and remains out on bail.

From Berkshireeagle.com:

Members of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force raided Begley’s Cedar Street home July 1 and allegedly discovered 205 bags of heroin, 53 vials of anabolic steroids and three unlicensed handguns, as well as ammunition.

Police charged Begley with one count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, three counts each of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, improper storage of a firearm, illegal ownership of a firearm, six counts of possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, one count of possession of cocaine (2nd offense) and one count of possession of anabolic steroids.

Begley appeared Tuesday before Judge Daniel Ford and was released on $5,000 cash or $50,000 bond. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for November.

Begley’s case is being prosecuted by Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Richard M. Locke.

Tags: anabolic steroids, steroids

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A navy seaman who blew the whistle on a drug ring at Sydney’s Garden Island naval facility has been assaulted and threatened with death by other navy personnel.

The sailor has been ostracized by his fellow sailors ever since he followed the orders of the chief of navy to inform authorities of illegal drug use in the force.

From Theaustralian.com.au:

The drug ring, revealed by The Australian in December last year, involved at least 21 sailors, of whom nine have been dismissed. Their offences include the illegal possession, use and trafficking of anabolic steroids, possession of prohibited weapons and using mail to transport steroids.

The investigation, which is continuing, has uncovered other substances including ecstasy at the base, which maintains warships and has access to visiting ships.

When questioned by police as part of their investigation into the drug ring in December, the sailor admitted to possessing steroids and is believed to have also named up to 16 others who were allegedly involved.

According to a defense spokesman, the seaman “was invited to make an official complaint to NSW police regarding assault, intimidation or harassment” after the alleged assault.

Tags: anabolic steroids, drug use, steroids

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Young boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are able to walk on their own for longer period of time when they receive daily steroid treatments for several years.

Daily steroid treatment also helps them reduce the risk of scoliosis, according to a study published in an issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Duchenne muscular dystrophy occurs in one in 3,500 boys. Symptoms start in early childhood and rapidly progress with most boys losing the ability to walk between ages nine and 11. There is no cure for the disorder.

For the study, researchers reviewed records of 143 boys seen at the Ohio State University Muscular Dystrophy Clinic in Columbus. Of the group, 75 had been treated with corticosteroids for an average of eight years and the rest of the boys had never been treated or had received a brief dose of steroids.

The study found boys who were treated with daily steroids walked by themselves 3.3 years longer than the untreated boys and had a lower rate of scoliosis, 31 percent compared to 91 percent.

“Previous studies have shown steroids improve strength and function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but this is the first study to show the long-term impact and how treated boys are able to walk longer on their own,” said study author Wendy King, PT, with the Department of Neurology at Ohio State University Medical Center, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Tags: corticosteroids, muscular dystrophy, steroid, steroids

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A new study from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has identified a unique protein complex that can be used for predicting whether an epidural steroid injection will help relieve pain caused by a herniated disc in the lower spin.

Gaetano Scuderi, MD, a clinical assistant professor of orthopedic surgery was the senior author of the study to be published in the Aug. 15 edition of Spine.

From Med.stanford.edu:

The researchers found that when a molecular complex of fibronectin and aggrecan — protein fragments associated with degenerated or traumatized cartilage — are not present near the hernia, steroid injections almost never work. However, when the complex is present, the injections often provide significant relief. In such cases, the authors hypothesize that the steroid injection interrupts the inflammatory process initiated by the fibronectin-aggrecan complex.

The study enrolled 26 patients — 19 men and seven women — over the course of a year. Of the 14 whose test samples contained the fibronectin-aggrecan complex, 12 responded to an epidural steroid injection and two did not. Of the 12 whose samples did not contain the complex, only one responded to the injection.

“We believe that the biomarker complex identified represents a bona fide and independent indicator of [epidural steroid injection]-responsive patients,” the authors write, noting that larger trials are warranted.

There are challenges to developing this finding for practical use. As it stands, testing for the protein complex is “a technically challenging clinical procedure” that is “as invasive as the injection itself,” the authors write. It requires a tube to be inserted into the outermost part of the spinal canal. Scuderi noted that the procedure also costs about as much as a single steroid injection. However, he said there may be a way to develop a cheaper, simpler sampling method — possibly by creating a blood test or using molecular imaging.

“There’s about a 50-50 chance that the epidural steroid will work, so most people figure, ‘Hey, I have nothing to lose,’” Scuderi said. “However, there is a significant expense, not to mention the procedural risks and lost productivity.”

Tags: steroid, steroid injection, steroid injections

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A Cheektowaga man faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine after pleading guilty Monday to distributing anabolic steroids, according to U. S. Attorney William J. Hochul.

Richard Lazzaro, the 39-year-old, along with two other men, was charged with obtaining and distributing steroids.

From Buffalonews.com:

Charged with Lazzaro were Michael Trautmann, also of Cheektowaga, and Richard Eldridge of West Seneca. Trautmann, 48, was, like Lazzaro, a detention officer working as a federal contract employee. Eldridge, 35, was an immigration enforcement officer.

Monday’s plea by Lazzaro was made before Chief U. S. District Judge William M. Skretny, and was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents from the FBI, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Inspector General.

U. S. Assistant Attorney Michael L. McCabe said Lazzaro was employed as a detention officer at the Buffalo area Federal Detention Facility in Batavia.

Tags: anabolic steroids, steroids

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Three men accused of selling steroids have pleaded not guilty on August 10, 2011 to federal drug charges.

Dr. Mark Peter Koch bought anabolic steroids from a satellite technician from north Alabama from August 2005 until June of this year and then sold them to 2 Monroe County men, according to an FBI affidavit that lays out the allegations.

From Blog.al.com:

Those are Frisco City resident Bennie Joe Wiggins, who pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and attempted possession with intent to distribute steroids, and Monroeville resident Terry Duwayne Faulk, who was charged in a separate action with concealing information about steroids.

Faulk has waived arraignment, and prosecutors have agreed to recommend a pretrial diversion program that would offer the chance for the charge to be dismissed.

FBI agents on June 28 seized about 38 grams of steroids from Koch, who is accused of both using and selling the performance-enhancing drugs. The affidavit alleges that an informant saw or participated in at least 8 steroids purchases involving Koch. Investigators estimated the total amount of steroids purchased by Koch at more than 300 grams.

Koch transported the drugs in a portable safe that he stored in the Monroe town of Excel, according to the criminal complaint.

Faulk gave the courier — identified in court documents as a “confidential human source” — $1,060 on June 24 to purchase steroids, as per the affidavit.

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