Anabolics Health

Anabolic/androgenic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone that can induce androgenic effects such as masculinization when administered to animals. AAS were synthesized in the 1930s, and their biological effects were discovered in the 1940s. They were first used in clinical practice in the 1950s, but their use has increased dramatically over time. This has raised concerns regarding potential adverse effects on health and behavior, especially in adolescents who abuse these substances. The pharmacology of this class of drugs is complicated because endogenous anabolic steroid hormones play critical developmental roles early in life while maintaining activity throughout adulthood. Endogenous steroid hormones produce relatively non-specific actions via interaction with specific intracellular receptors; thus, AAS produces diverse physiological and psychological effects and elicits a broad spectrum of behavioral responses. AAS use may affect behavior by altering mood, inducing dyscontrol and aggressiveness, exerting feminizing and demasculinizing actions in males, affecting motivational processes involved in exercise and sports performance, and producing testicular atrophy with associated oligospermia or azoospermia. Laboratory tests can be used to detect AAS abuse by detecting their presence in the urine. Treatment for AAS abuse will vary depending on the severity of the problem. For those who are addicted to these substances, cessation of use is recommended initially, although complete cessation may not be possible due to psychological dependence. Psychotherapy may help some individuals recover from anabolic steroid abuse-induced adverse changes in mood or behavior. Anabolic steroid abuse is associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events. It has also been associated with other medical problems such as harmful cholesterol and lipid levels changes, preferably treated by stopping the drugs. In males, testosterone levels initially rise but then fall significantly with continued AAS use, possibly leading to a preponderance or exacerbation of these symptoms in those with depression or anxiety disorders.

A number of designer oral steroids have been created for non-medical purposes, including nutritional supplements. The original designer steroid was pregnenolone formed from the prototypical progestin pregnenolone sulfate through replacing the basic 17a-carbon atom so that it wouldn't be designated as a progestogen and adding a methyl group at the C-17a position. This alteration made it possible to synthesize an utterly new steroid hormone from the same parent molecule, 1-dihydrotestosterone. Other designer steroids have been created with alkylation of the 17a-carbon atom at various locations on the steroid skeleton to prevent detection by current drug screening methods. The modifications that are required for illicit use result in an increased dose requirement since the altered conformation reduces affinity for its cognate receptor and also alters its physicochemical properties such as partition coefficient, which is vital since some drugs will only enter cells via membrane transporters if they dissipate more of their binding potential away from membranes (e.g., endogenous estradiol preferentially partitions into bone over liver). Since these modifications make designer steroids more expensive to produce, they have been mostly removed from the marketplace. However, a number of designer steroids continue to be available for illicit use.

Other anabolic steroids include boldenone, chlorotestosterone, clostebol, drostanolone propionate (dromostanolone), etiocholanolone, fluoxymesterone, metandienone (methandrostenolone), nandrolone phenpropionate (nor- phydrotestosterone), oxandrolone, stanozolol, stenbolone acetate.