Thirty-six-year old Kirsten Mealer of Timbo, Arkansas was charged of illegal steroid distribution. Mealer was sentenced to a nine-year imprisonment and two years of supervised release. The gym owner pleaded guilty to distributing 185,029 dosage units of various anabolic steroids, under Hell Fire Labs brand. This happened from January 2007 until the ring was broken up in February 2008.

Four individuals have been connected to Hell Fire Labs, according to Mary Beth Buchanan and Mary Houghton, prosecutors at the US Attorney’s Office for Western District of Pennsylvania. They will be charged with conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids.

Others connected to Hell Fire Labs were David Edward Retter, who is accused of shipping laboratory equipment and supplies for an operational underground laboratory to Kristen Mealer in January 2007. Retter denies knowing Mealer.

Jason Hobbs, also known as “Heretic”, from Auburn, Washington was suspected to be the original owner and founder of Hell Fire Labs. Another individual from Indianapolis, Indiana, but was only identified as “Freak” was also linked to the said anabolic steroids lab.

Mealer’s home and Arkansas business, Stone County Fitness Center were raided by agents as part of the investigation.

Mealer and Retter were sentenced last October 30 in US District Court.

From Post Gazette:

Two men have been sentenced for their role in a ring that distributed steroids in Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

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According to a study presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42^nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, kidney function is affected among athletes using anabolic steroids to gain muscle mass and strength.

The study indicated that prolonged use of steroids bring about previously unrecognized harmful effects on the kidneys.

The first study performed to prove and describe the injury to the kidneys due to habitual use of steroids was conducted by Dr. Leal Herlitz, MD and her colleagues from Columbia University Medical Center. The team studied a group of bodybuilders who have been steroid users for many years. All 10 bodybuilders developed protein leakage into the urine. Kidney functions of these bodybuilders were also severely reduced. Nine out of ten bodybuilders developed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a condition where the kidney gets severely scarred.

Fortunately, when the bodybuilders discontinued steroids use, their condition improved. However, one bodybuilder whose condition is in the advanced stage developed end-stage renal failure, which required him to undergo regular dialysis. One of the bodybuilders started taking steroids again. As a result, he suffered a relapse of severe kidney dysfunction.

Researchers suspected that steroids might have either direct toxic effects to the kidneys or indirect effects such as an increase in the filtration rate due to rapid muscle mass growth.

From Renal Business Today:

SAN DIEGO— Athletes who use anabolic steroids may gain muscle mass and strength, but they can also destroy their kidney function, according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego.

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In 2002, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) due to testing positive for steroids use suspended Josh Barnett, 31, for six months. His post-fight urinalysis revealed traces of three anabolic agents, namely, Boldenone metabolite, Fluoxymesterone metabolite and Nandrolone metabolite. This was after he defeated Randy Couture at UFC 36, which earned him the heavyweight title. Despite the positive steroids test, he denied using any anabolic steroids, and even challenged NSAC’s testing protocol.

Last July, he requested for a re-licensure and filed an appeal before the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC). However, on July 21, Barnett was notified by CSAC that he again tested positive for the anabolic steroid 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, in his pre-test supposedly as a pre-requisite to renew his license. A second sample was obtained, also reflecting the same results as the first testing.

Last Monday, CSAC granted his appeal to extend his hearing. It was re-scheduled on December 8, 2009.

According to CSAC Interim Executive Officer David T. Thornton, it was Barnett’s attorney, Michael DiMaggio, who contacted the commission to request for an extension. According to DiMaggio, their law firm is still awaiting additional information from the UCLA laboratory that conducted Barnett’s tests.

From Sherdog:

LOS ANGELES –- Josh Barnett was granted a second extension Monday for an appeals hearing the fighter had requested after the California State Athletic Commission denied his re-licensure in late July due to a positive pre-test for an anabolic steroid. The new hearing will be held on Dec. 8.

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A team of researchers involved in ascertaining the impact of anabolic steroid use on power lifters years after the use is no longer prevalent has found that changes in the shoulder and quadriceps attained by steroid use tend to stay with steroid users years after discontinuation of steroids.

It is noteworthy to note here that anabolic steroids are synthetic hormones that are derived from testosterone, the male hormone and their use has much been in debate in professional sports where muscle strength is paramount.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Findings

The researchers found that several years after anabolic steroid withdrawal, and with no or low current strength-training, the muscle fiber area intensity, the number of nuclei per fiber in the quadriceps was still comparable to that of athletes that were currently performing high intensity strength-training. They also discovered that the shoulder-neck fiber areas were comparable to high-intensity trained athletes and the number of nuclei per fiber was even higher than found in the current steroid-using group.

Conclusions

According to the lead researcher, Dr. Eriksson, ”It is possible that the high number of nuclei we found in the muscle might be beneficial for an athlete who continues or resumes strength training because increased myonuclei opens up the possibility of increasing protein synthesis, which can lead to muscle mass.”  He added, “Based on the characteristics between doped and non-doped power lifters, we conclude that a period of anabolic steroid usage is an advantage for a power lifter in competition, even several years after they stop taking a doping drug.”

It is evident from this study that even a period of anabolic steroid usage is more than enough to be an advantage for a power lifter in competitive events, even after passage of several years after doping has been discontinued by the power lifter.

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Bernardino Jimenez was a young child in San Pedro de Macoris who grew up playing baseball behind the tin shanties and on fields cut from sugar plantations, with big dreams in his eyes. However, he became a victim to an agent who injected him with a mixture of what was told to him as legal vitamins. He was soon signed to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ training squad in 2008. Bad times entered Bernardino’s life when he tested positive for an anabolic steroid used in horses, Boldenone. This led to a career-stalling suspension for 50 games.

From TimesUnion.com:

Jimenez’s case is just one example of a disturbing trend in this hotbed of baseball talent.

Of the 69 minor leaguers suspended for using banned substances in 2008, nearly two thirds — 42 — came from the Dominican Summer League, a developmental program for Latin American players housed in secluded palm tree-lined campuses owned by big-league teams. This year, 31 of the 71 minor leaguers suspended for using banned substances came from the DSL.

In the major leagues, where performance-enhancing substances have been a divisive issue for more than a decade, players with Dominican roots have also been at the center of several high-profile drug cases.

Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramirez have been accused in stories by The New York Times of being on a list of more than 100 players alleged to have tested positive during an initial drug survey of MLB players six years ago. David Ortiz has acknowledged the union told him he was on the list, and slugger Alex Rodriguez, following a February report in Sports Illustrated, said he used steroids while with Seattle from 2001-03. Rodriguez said a cousin obtained a substance he knew as “boli” in the Dominican Republic.

The lure of fast money by using steroids is one of the biggest reasons why children in the Dominican Republic take steroids. Due to hardship issues faced, budding sportsmen often neglect the possible side effects of steroids, amphetamines, performance enhancing drugs, and growth hormones and even went on the extent of saying that steroids are worth the risk.

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According to results of a national survey published in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the use of steroids among teenage girls is not just limited to those being a part of professional athletics and is also concerned with a variety of other health-endangering behaviors.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Adolescent girls reporting anabolic steroid use had significantly more other health-harming behaviors,” they continue. “They were much more likely to use other unhealthy substances, including past 30-day use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.” Young female steroid users were also more likely to:

* have had sexual intercourse before age 13
* have been pregnant
* drink and drive or have ridden with a drinking driver
* carry a weapon
* have been in a fight on school property in the past year
* have feelings of sadness or hopelessness almost every day for at least two weeks
* have attempted suicide

More than two-thirds of the teen girls surveyed reported trying to change their weight. However, those who used steroids were more likely to turn to extreme weight-loss techniques, including vomiting and laxative use. “Anabolic steroids are body-shaping agents and cause a loss in body fat and an increase in lean tissue; therefore, their association with unhealthy weight loss practices was not surprising,” the authors write.

These findings have pinpointed critical associations among girls making use of steroids as per the authors. It is believed that high-risk girls tend to receive less of attention than adolescent boys, perhaps reflecting that their actions are less socially.

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Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) was a new thing for the world of doping till the time a spent syringe was not anonymously provided to USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency).

But after it was provided, Don Catlin and his team of researchers at the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory in Los Angeles were able to crackdown chemical formula of the substance inside the spent syringe.

The best part of this story is that plans to curb use of this steroid have already been formulated by development of accurate urine detection test for the same.

From News-Medical.Net:

Urine samples were purposely spiked with the newly identified THG and various analyses carried out to determine how the substance could be detected. Although it is not detectable by standard doping control screening, THG was found to be easily detectable by alternate methods. Once detection methods were established, the substance was administered to a baboon both intravenously and intramuscularly, and its excreted urine collected for analysis. It was determined that THG is detectable in urine after both IV and IM administration.

The designer drug identified in this study is different from anabolic steroids previously found in athletes’ urine samples. The Food and Drug Administration has warned that its use could pose health risks, and it cannot be legally marketed without approval.

Lead researcher Catlin attributes this discovery to the provision of crucial inside information, and believes it to be a valuable contribution to doping control. He says, “Now that there’s a test for THG, anyone using it can get caught, and it’s unlikely to be found again in an athlete’s urine sample.”

THG, which is considered to be different than other types of anabolic steroids, cannot be detected in routine doping tests but can be tracked down with IV and IM administration.

The discovery of this synthetic designer steroid has given a respite to doping scientists who always want to stay ahead of doping sportsmen.

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Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggest that anabolic steroid treatment can prove to be effective in improving surgical repair of recurrent or massive tears of the shoulder’s rotator cuff tendons.

This study was led by Dr. Spero Karas, Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery in UNC’s School of Medicine. A bioengineered tendon that figured in experiments of this study was developed by Dr. Albert J. Banes, Professor of Orthopedics and Biomedical Engineering at UNC.

From News-Medical.Net:

Anabolic steroids benefit millions of people a year, said Karas, including those with deficiencies in sex hormones and burn victims who need to build up their metabolism to repair musculoskeletal tissue. They also are FDA-approved for treating anemia for their ability to help the body rebuild blood.

As it’s widely known that anabolic steroids can build muscle mass and strength, Karas said he thought these properties might apply to shoulder tissue and that Banes’ bioartificial tendon might provide the appropriate model for testing.

“In this new study, supraspinatus tendon cells were harvested from my patients during rotator cuff surgery, isolated and then sent to Albert’s lab,” Karas said. “The cells were then grown in his culture media to coalesce and form this experimental tendon model, the bioartificial tendon.”

Prior to applying mechanical strain, the researchers treated some of the developing tissue with the anabolic steroid nandrolone decoanate. The steroid was administered directly into the lab dish via pipette, or dropper.

“We clearly found that when you looked at the bioartificial tendon matrices that were treated with anabolic steroid and then mechanical load or strain, we saw significant increases in their biomechanical properties,” Karas said.

Karas further said that there is a synergistically kind of relationship between load and anabolic steroid when it comes to improving tendon characteristics. He also said that the crucial implications of this study may be applied in the near future to post-surgery healing of tendons that may have been left torn or retracted for a long time.

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Science daily has reported about a research of a team on the power lifters as years after the athletes had given up use of steroids, it was reported that while physical trace of drug no longer remained but the changes in the shoulders and quadriceps still gave lifters an advantage. Strength basically relies on the muscles and so is developed by the very famous sport, power lifting.

According to the sources it was found that muscle fiber distribution, fiber area, subsarcolemmal and internal myonuclei number per fiber, myonuclei expressing androgen receptors, satellite cell numbers per fiber, and proportion of split fibers in each muscle for each individual. Three groups were examined, first group comprised of seven power lifters who had previously used anabolic steroids for long periods of time but stopped their use some years ago (PREV). Second group was currently power lifting but did not use steroids (P). The third group was power lifting and taking steroids (PAS).

From Science daily:

A team of researchers has examined the impact of anabolic steroid use on fiber area intensity, the number of nuclei per fiber in the quadriceps was still comparable to power lifters years after the athletes had ceased to take the drugs. The researchers found that while physical traces of the drug no longer remained, changes in the shoulder and quadriceps still gave lifters advantage years later.

The researchers found that several years after anabolic steroid withdrawal, and with no or low current strength-training, the muscle that of athletes that were currently performing high intensity strength-training. They also discovered that the shoulder-neck fiber areas were comparable to high-intensity trained athletes and the number of nuclei per fiber was even higher than found in the current steroid-using group.

The researchers found that even after a break of several years the muscles were very well intact and toned. Also, it was found that person having no or low current strength-training, the muscle fiber area intensity, the number of nuclei per fiber in the quadriceps were still comparable to that of athletes those were currently performing high intensity strength-training.

Researchers also discovered that the shoulder-neck fiber areas were comparable to high-intensity trained athletes and the number of nuclei per fiber was even higher than found in the current steroid-using group. On the basis of information from the sources it can be concluded that a period of anabolic steroid usage is an advantage for a power lifter in competition, even several years after they stop taking them.

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Nowadays, majority of the adults are heading towards non-medical anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS).The consumption of such steroids is not that they are cheating athletes or risk taking teenagers. Most of them who are taking it are aged 30, well educated and just want physical self-improvement which can motivate them at their workplace too. Use of such steroids can increase muscle mass, strength, and physical attractiveness in males also includes increased confidence, decreased fat, improved mood and attraction of sexual partners.

AAS users are quite different from the other drug abusers. AAS users are much more strategically planned to maximize benefits and minimize harm, unlike the drug abusers who have careless approach towards psychotropic drugs. The people who are undergoing the use of AAS are much cautious in their diet, exercise and lifestyle. They do not have a loss of control over their senses as the abusers of heroin and cocaine.

From Science Daily:

The majority of non-medical anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) users are not cheating athletes or risk-taking teenagers. According to a recent survey, containing the largest sample to date the typical male user is about 30 years old, well-educated, and earning an above-average income in a white-collar occupation. The majority did not use steroids during adolescence and were not motivated by athletic competition or sports performance.

The study concludes that these AAS users are a driven and ambitious group dedicated to gym attendance, diet, occupational goals and educational attainment. “The users we surveyed consider that they are using directed drug technology as one part of a strategy for physical self-improvement within a health-centered lifestyle,” said Collins.

The vast majority we have seen that AAS users are not athletes and are mostly the regular masses. Thus the survey actually showed that the use of steroids by people must be regulated on a issued public policy so that no contradictory views can be put forward and questioned as stated by Collins.

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