Albuterol or Albuterol sulfate is admired by professional sportsmen, especially those participating in weight categories and bodybuilding, to get rid of excess body weight in a short span of time without coming in close contact with side effects of steroids. This safe drug is also useful for providing relief to individuals suffering from exercise-induced bronchospasm or obesity.

Its IUPAC name is 4-[2-(tert-butylamino)-1-hydroxyethyl]-2-(hydroxymethyl) phenol; sulfuric acid. Albuterol sulfate has the molecular weight of 576.7 g/mol at the base and its empirical formula is (C₁₃H₂₁NO₃)2• H₂SO_4.

The recommended dose of Albuterol is two puffs every 4-6 hours and 2-4 mg three times a day for treating obesity and exercise-induced bronchospasm. It is highly important to note here that use of Albuterol is not to be initiated by pregnant and breastfeeding women or individuals having an existing allergy to Albuterol or any of its ingredients. The drug is also not meant for people suffering from high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat, diabetes, and coronary deficiency. When abused, the use of Albuterol can lead to side effects such as tremor, dry mouth, dizziness, and excessive sweating.

Albuterol is required to be kept at a controlled room temperature of 15°-25°C (59°-77°F) and should be kept at a distance away from pets, sunlight, heat, moisture, unauthorized usage, and children.

The research examined how much body-shaping drugs and anabolic steroids are used by the young community. It was also disclosed that while girls are more likely to use body-shaping and athletic-enhancing drugs (BSD), non-athlete teens and boys are more likely to make use of anabolic steroids.

From News-Medical.Net:

According to the findings, high school students — both athletes and non- athletes — use anabolic steroids and body shaping drugs on a regular basis. Male athletes and non-athletes appear to be the most common users of anabolic steroids; while females are more likely to use body shaping drugs, such as amphetamines, methamphetamines, pseudoephedrine and diet pills. Additionally, students with a higher grade-point average tend to use less drugs. Compared with non-athletes, student athletes were also less likely to use steroids, alcohol, cocaine, cigarettes, pseudoephedrine and diet pills.

“Our findings indicate an increase in anabolic steroid use among high school non-athletes, which may be one of the reasons for the national increase in steroid use among teens,” explained Dr. Goldberg. “Also, while high school females use less alcohol and other drugs, they use more body-shaping and athletic-enhancing drugs than their male counterparts.” Since drug use in Oregon mirrors the national rates, Dr. Goldberg notes that these findings could mean that athletic and body shaping substances could be used by nearly two million high school students.

Dr. Linn Goldberg and researchers at Oregon Health and Sciences University analyzed the results from 2,036 females, while in another study they looked at results from 4,100 students.

The finding was revealed during a study by researchers at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, Canada, which appeared in an issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine.

From News-Medical.Net:

Female mice overexpressing adiponectin had weaker vertebra at 8 weeks of age than control mice and this delay in bone development persisted through to the end of the study period, representing early adulthood. The weaker vertebra model compression fractures of the lumbar spine in humans, among the most common type of fragility fracture associated with low bone mass and osteoporosis. The strength of the femur neck, representing the hip, was also weaker in both females and males overexpressing adiponectin. Serum adiponectin levels were inversely correlated with femur bone mineral content, further emphasizing that a high level of adiponectin impedes bone development at not only the lumbar spine but also the hip. Whether or not the delay in bone development resolves in later life or is sustained and leads to an increased risk of fragility fracture, particularly during aging when bone loss rapidly occurs due to declining levels of sex steroids, requires further investigation.

The research team, Dr. Michael C. Archer, Earle W. McHenry Professor and Chair, Dr. Wendy E. Ward, Associate Professor, Dr. Kafi Ealey, Postdoctoral Fellow and predoctoral student Jovana Kaludjerovic, in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, evaluated whether or not the diponectin modulates bone development using transgenic mice that overexpress this protein.

Lead author E. Rand Sutherland, Associate Professor of Medicine at National Jewish Health, and lead author of the paper appearing in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, remarked that there is a possible link between obesity and asthma.

From Sciencedaily.com:

“By studying a well characterized group of patients with asthma, we were able to determine that increased weight is not associated with more severe asthma. Although benefits can be obtained with weight loss in other diseases, these findings suggest that an improvement in asthma may not necessarily result from weight loss.

“The findings also suggest that patients and physicians should be aware that obese asthma patients may not respond well to corticosteroids, the most successful controller medication for asthma, which can affect dosing decisions and choices of possible alternatives to steroids.”

The data is suggestive of the fact that obese and overweight asthmatic patients respond less than their lean counterparts as far as controller medications for asthma are concerned, as per Dr. Sutherland.

In short, asthmatic patients must make sincere efforts to keep a constant check on their body weight so that their bodies can respond well to medications.