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Article: Anabolic steroids: pumping trouble.
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- September 1, 1984
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1984 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For athletes who want to stoke the human engine to its utmost, anabolic steroids may appear to be the chemical to give that little edge in competition. But those who consume or inject steroids to build extra muscle power are damaging their bodies, in some cases irreversibly so.
Anabolic steroids are chemical derivatives of testosterone, the so-called "male sex hormone." Actually, both males and females produce testosterone, although in different amounts. The term, "anabolism" means a constructive process. Thus, the primary medical use of anabolic steroids is to help build the body tissues and prevent the breakdown of tissues that occurs in debilitating disease.