Steroids

Topic: Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids

General Purpose: To Inform

Specific Purpose: To present the known facts concerning the use of steroids

James Mercer

Introduction

I. ATTENTION GETTER: In a recent report, The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) uncovered an alarming statistic: more than a half million students in the 8th and 10th grade are currently using some form of anabolic steroids. ( www.steroidabuse.org)

II. PREVIEW POINTS:

A. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: 1. Definition in scientific terms

2. Origins and when discovered

B. WHAT STEROIDS ARE AND HAVE BEEN USED FOR

C. WHO USES STEROIDS AND WHY

D. THE POTENTIAL PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS

Body

I. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:

A. SCIENTIFIC DEFINITION:

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone. Testosterone, the natural male hormone that is produced primarily by the testes in men, is responsible for the androgenic (masculizing), and the anabolic (tissue-building) effects noted during male adolescence and adulthood. . (CHARLES YESALIS 2000)

B. ORIGINS:

According to the reference text anabolic steroids in sport and exercise 2000, Experimentation with synthetic steroids on animals and castrate men began as early as 1911, and by 1935, the hormone testosterone had been isolated, chemically characterized, and the basic nature of its anabolic effects had become clear. It was shortly here after that oral and injectable preparations were made available to the medical community.

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II. WHAT ARE ANABOLIC STEROIDS USED FOR:

(Yesalis, Anabolic Steroids in Sport an Exercise. 2000)

A. THERAPEUTIC AGENT

1. Delayed Puberty…in boys age 15 or older

2. Impotence and male climacteric symptoms

3. To treat breast cancer in women

4. HIV/aids patients to increase appetite, strength, body mass, and improved sense of well being.

B. VETERINARY APPLICATION

1. Anabolic/Androgenic steroids are widely used in veterinary medicine, as well as ..

2. Given to cattle to increase the rate of weight gain and improve feed efficiency.

3. Improve the performance of race horses

C. PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUG

1. The use of steroids by humans to enhance physical performance “…were apparently first used in WWII,” according to William Taylor, M.D., in his book Hormonal Manipulation, “steroids were said to have been administered to Nazi troops in order to make them more aggressive and less fearful of violence.”

2. It was in the next few decades that Steroids began to play a prominent role in Sport and Athletics. The muscle building effect of steroids has caused them to be