Karola Bond
WR 123
Professor Quay
January 28, 2005
Anabolic Steroids and Their Precursors: When Training and Dedication Just Aren’t Enough
I. The ultimate goal for an athlete in any sport is to be number one. Today, hard work and dedication are not the only benefactors that construct an athlete to perform at their optimal level in the sport. Due to the competitive nature of sports and the powerful desire to be number one, athletes have resolved to take anabolic steroids and their precursors. Anabolic steroids and their precursors provide athletes with a significant increase in muscle strength and performance to make them number one in their sport. What are the effects that anabolic steroids and their precursors have on the athlete?
II. The problem is that athletes continue to consume anabolic steroids and their precursors for muscle enhancement even though they are illegal. Our athletes have become so impatient with traditional gains from good nutrition, dedication and hard-core training that they have become naïve to the effects that these illegal drugs have on their bodies. Faster gains are not necessarily better when health risks are put into danger by athletes who are consuming anabolic steroids and their precursors.
III. Even though they have been illegalized and banned from sports organizations and federations, anabolic steroids and their precursors are still being abused by athletes of all ages. Consummation of these drugs by athletes is mainly due to the competitive nature of sports and the powerful desire to be number one. Anabolic steroids and their precursors enhance the external muscular physique of the athlete, but these drugs are also negatively affecting the athlete biologically and psychologically by causing damage internally.
IV. Research Questions that assist in keeping my topic in focus:
A. How do anabolic steroids and their precursors work in the body?
B. Is there a difference between over the counter pro-hormone supplements (steroid precursors) and illegal anabolic steroids?
C. What are the side effects and consequences associated with anabolic steroids and their precursors?
D. How are steroids and their precursors regulated in the United States through testing and other means?
E. What can an athlete do to make desired gains without the assistance of drug doping?
V. I believe that this topic should be of significant importance to not only all athletes, but to athletic trainers, educators of health and exercise related fields as well as school nurses. It is valuable for people in these disciplines to have a working knowledge of performance enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids so that they may further educate those athletes in which they come into contact. Having knowledge on this topic will assist these professionals in more health promoting means of gaining physical strength. Athletes of all ages, who abuse illegal anabolic steroids need a means to help them successfully stop using these illegal drugs, which may cause negative internal effects on their body.
VI. Annotated Bibliography
"Health Effects of Androstenedione." U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 11 2004. Department of Health and Human Service . 19 Jan. 2005 <http://www.fda.gov/oc/whitepapers/andro.html>.
This article discusses what the steroid precursor, androstenedione is and how it affects the body. It gives research abstracts that have tested androstenedione in both male and female athletes to document side effects and gains that have occurred. This article also contains research results that have measured the amount of this drug needed to get the same testosterone enhancement as illegal anabolic steroids. I think that this article will be of significant use when I need to describe steroid precursors and how they are not any different than illegal steroids.
Liska, Ken. Drugs and the Human Body with Implications for Society. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc., 2004.
This book written by Ken Liska was very informative. I was able to distinguish the difference between anabolic steroids and their precursors (Androstenedione). It discusses ways that coaches and athletic trainers can test for these drugs, but it also talks of ways that athletes can mask the existence of these drugs in they bodies. I found this book to be helpful in breaking down how steroids and their precursors are metabolized into testosterone by the human body.
Lombardo, John A. "Supplements and Athletes." Southern Medical Journal Sept 2004: 877-879.
This journal article breaks down the information regarding the most common performance- enhancing supplements used by athletes. It discusses the risks and roles that androstenedione has on the body. I found this article to be interesting and will serve to be useful in my paper when I discuss androstenedione.
Millman, Robert B. "Steroid and Nutritional Supplement Use in Professional Athletes." The American Journal on Addictions 12 (2003): 48- 54.
Throughout this article, Millman expresses the connection that steroids and nutritional supplements share. He provides some brief history of anabolic steroids and nutritional supplement use in the United States. This article discusses in great detail how both Anabolic steroids and nutritional supplements (androstenedione) work. It also gave a good description of the prevalence of anabolic steroids and nutritional supplement use and the reasons why they are used. This article is valuable because when I describe why athletes result to taking these drugs I will have a source to support my thoughts and statements.
Murray, Robert K., Daryl K. Granner, Peter A. Mayes, and Victor W. Rodwell. Harper's Biochemistry. 24th ed. Stamford: Appleton and Lange, 1996.
This is a good text book because it goes into detail how steroids are created in the sex organs of both males and females. It also shows interesting chemical formulas that the body naturally uses to make testosterone and estrogen. This book also discusses the structures of testosterone and estrogen and what the body uses them for. This source may be handy, if I want to go into this sort of details within my paper.
Powers, Michael E. "The Safety and Efficacy of Anabolic Steroid Precursors: What is the Scientific Evidence?" The Journal of Athletic Training Sep 2002. 17 Jan 2005 <http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=164360>.
This data base article written by Doctor Michael Powers expressed the dangers of using anabolic steroids precursors. He discusses their role in the body and how the body converts the precursors into testosterone or estrogen. This article also provides research findings associated with the effectiveness of these drugs. I found this article to be somewhat valuable on the basis of supporting my opinion about steroids precursors.
Yesalis, Charles E., ed. Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. Champaign: Human Kinetics Publishers, 1993.
Charles Yesalis provides within this book a vast amount of information in regards to steroids and athletes that use them. He brings up many important key points within this book regarding the use of steroids. One of the most significant aspects of this source is that it gives an alternative to steroids use, which is good old-fashioned dedication and hard core training.
Yesalis, Charles, and Virginia Cowart. The Steroid's Game. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 1998.
Yesalis again touches on the important risks and dangers that an athlete undertakes while consuming these drugs. Emphasis is focused on ways to help keep athletes from verging down the steroid highway. I believe that this book also has some significant points that are in favor of opinions of anabolic steroids, it’s precursors and how they affect the athlete.