ated compounds on its list of banned drugs. However, no well-controlled studies have documented that the drugs improve agility, skill, cardiovascular capacity, or overall athletic performance (NIDA July/August 1997). The side effects of anabolic steroids are unlimited, new side effects pop up every day. Some of the main side effects are trembling, severe acne, fluid retention, aching joints, high blood pressure, lower HDL, jaundice, and liver tumors. Also, people who inject steroids with shared needles run the risk of contracting or transmitting hepatitis or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Other side effects for men include shrunken testicles, reduced sperm count, impotence, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, difficulty or pain in urinating, and an enlarged prostate. For women other side effects could include facial hair, offset menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, deeper voice, and or reduction in breast size. In adolescents side effects involve premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty leading to stunted growth. Users often become clinically depressed when they stop taking the drugs, a withdrawal symptom that may contribute to dependence. Users also may experience paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment stemming from feelings of invincibility (NIDA July/August 1997) It was determined that a specific steroid called androstenedione did nothing to raise testosterone levels in power lifting. As pointed out by Drs Palusinski and Barud, androstenedione intake is not prudent in young people, and because of the potentially harmful sequelae, we believe it should not be recommended to anyone. We also agree that additional research on the effect of androstenedione intake on the prostate gland is desirable. Of concern is the recent report that androstenedione has neural effects equal in potency to testosterone (Ullis p.5). Androstenedione supplementation does not increase...
