Alphabetical list:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Q Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
News: December 7, 2009
Surprised? Black market steroids usually mislabeled
December 7, 2009The risks of anabolic steroids - used by some athletes to build muscle mass - are by now well-documented. But it turns out, perhaps not surprisingly, that steroids bought illegally through "underground labs" and over the internet generally aren't what their labels say they are, researchers reported yesterday at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry's annual meeting in Los Angeles.
Steroid users often complain that the drugs they had bought - often at significant expense - don't work, or have serious side effects. "Actual data regarding the composition of steroids obtained on the black market are scarce," however, presenter Dr. D. Zach Smith, of Boston Medical Center, told Reuters Health by email.
"Many labs in the US refuse to analyze suspected steroids," he continued, "so users are not able to determine with any degree of certainty if the steroids they are using are labeled or dosed correctly."
Smith and his colleagues looked at 217 studies that had analyzed the chemical makeup of illegally obtained anabolic steroids.
The researchers found that almost a third - 30 percent -- of samples others had analyzed did not contain any of the drugs listed on their labels.
Even when the samples did include an anabolic steroid, nearly half - 44 percent -- contained the wrong dosages, either much lower or much higher. One sample had less than one percent of the dosage its label claimed, while another had more than five times as much.
Unexpectedly high doses could lead to more severe cases of all the potential harms associated with steroids, Smith said: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, shrinkage of the testicles, enlarged male breasts, and acne.
There is also "more evidence accumulating that the likelihood of having a bad reaction with severe psychiatric symptoms including mania, hostility, or aggression, is linked to higher dosages," he said.
One in five of the samples was contaminated with heavy metals such as tin, lead, and arsenic. Such metals can have toxic effects on the nervous and digestive systems, as well as the muscles.
Would steroid users "be willing to risk serious legal consequences and prosecution for a steroid either so underdosed as to be worthless, or contaminated with heavy metals?" asked Smith. "These questions deserve to be asked, and as clinicians we owe our patients an informed and fully accurate discussion."
Archive issues: (50)
Archive list: 1 2 3 4 [5] 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
December 2, 2009 | Fatty acids in diet affect ulcerative colitis riskPeople who eat lots of red meat, cook with certain types of oil, and use some kinds of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-heavy margarines may be increasing their risk of a painful inflammatory bowel disease, a study in more than 200,000 Europeans shows. These foods are high in linoleic acid and the study have found that people who were the heaviest ...
December 1, 2009 | Ecstasy Users at Higher Risk of Sleep ApneaThe widely used club drug ecstasy appears to increase the risk of sleep apnea, say U.S. researchers. "People who use ecstasy need to know that this drug damages the brain and can cause immediate and dangerous problems such as sleep apnea," study author Dr. Una McCann, of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in a news ...
November 30, 2009 | Switching to Light Cigarettes Will Not help you Quit SmokingThe Center of Disease Control (CDC) says that there are 44 million American smokers and many of these smokers are looking for ways to quit. Some smokers in an attempt to kick the habit are switching to "light" or "ultra light" to help their battle against nicotine, however, a new study suggests switching to a lighter cigarerette does not ...
Related articles:
Stoicism and emotional repression
Society has different rules with regards to the way that men and women are supposed to express themselves. Men are generally regarded as the ones who are supposed to give comfort and strength. If they break down, cry, or seek comfort they may lose face. Women and other men do not give men an ...Section: Mens health risks
Causes
The cause of IC/PBS is unknown, though several theories have been put forward (these include autoimmune, neurologic, allergic and genetic). Regardless of the origin, it is clear that the majority of IC/PBS patients struggle with a damaged urothelium, or bladder lining. When the surface glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer is damaged (via a urinary tract infection (UTI), excessive consumption of coffee or sodas, traumatic injury, etc.), urinary chemicals can "leak" into surrounding tissues, causing pain, inflammation, and urinary symptoms. Oral ...Section: Interstitial cystitis
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome - diagnosis
Diagnosis is through tests of semen, expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) or prostate tissue that reveal inflammation in the absence of symptoms.Section: Prostatitis