Posts Tagged ‘Steroids’

The lucrative benefits of anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs have always been more than just helpful for raising the standards of health, fitness, and performance. However, some of the presently available steroids can lead to side effects. This is the reason why you need to choose safe steroids like Anavar so that you can reap, optimize steroid benefits without coming in proximity to steroid side effects.

Anavar, which is also known as Anvar and Oxandrolone, is one of the very few steroids that have been able to maintain their goodwill. This is simply because Anavar is not only a potent steroid but also a safe and affordable steroid. Categorized as a Schedule III (non-narcotic) controlled substance under the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990, Anvar is admired by professional sportsmen to stay high on name, fame, and recognition by delivering record-shattering performances on a continuing basis.

One of the biggest reasons why Anavar is preferred over other anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs is because it does not lead to estrogen and other side effects such as high blood pressure, water retention, gynecomastia, and acne unless abused to a significant extent. Moreover, Anavar is relatively mild on the natural endocrine system when compared to other steroids in the market.

Benefits are easy to attain when users make use of Anavar in doses of 20-25 mg/day (for men) and 5-15 mg/day (for women). In order to optimize benefits of Anavar during a steroid cycle, it can be stacked with Winstrol, Equipoise, Primobolan, and Trenbolone. It is however important to note that this anabolic steroid should not be abused else it can lead to side effects such as edema, acne, male pattern baldness, and insomnia.

According to a new study designed for evaluating whether androgenic anabolic steroids may be addictive in nature, hamsters exposed to the compounds noticed addictive behavior over a period of time.

The research that was conducted by the University of Southern California’s Keck School of medicine was released at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s (ACNP) annual conference.

From News.bio-medicine.org:

“Most people use anabolic steroids to enhance their physical performance, but they deny that steroids may be addictive,” noted lead researcher Ruth Wood, PhD, Professor of Cell and Neurobiology at USC. “Unlike other commonly abused drugs, the primary motivation for steroid users is not to get high, but rather to achieve enhanced athletic performance and increased muscle mass. The complex motivation for steroid use makes it difficult to determine the addictive properties of anabolic steroids in humans. Our goal was to create an experimental model of addiction where athletic performance and other reinforcing effects are irrelevant.”

Wood’s study is among the first to examine the potential for anabolic steroid addiction. The research was modeled after well-established methods used to study highly addictive drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. Hamsters were implanted with small cannulas for self-administration of commonly abused steroids into their brains. The animals then spent four hours per day in a chamber with access to two delivery mechanisms. When the hamster operated the active mechanism, he received 1 microgram of testosterone, or one of several commonly abused steroids: nandrolone, drostanolone, stanozolol, or oxymetholone.

It was suggested by the study that coaches and athletes must be aware of the addiction aspect besides other possible risks of using anabolic steroids.

Anadrol, also known as Oxymetholone, can easily find a place in the list of most successful anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs of all times. This is not just because Anadrol is a safe steroid when compared to other steroids, but also because it helps sportsmen realize their long-cherished dreams and is easily accessible and affordable.

Categorized as a Schedule III drug under the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990, Anadrol is considered by many steroid users as the most powerful oral steroid that can help them attain “unthinkable” body strength and muscle mass gains besides proving as a wonder drug when it comes to improving transportation of more of oxygenated blood. This anabolic steroid is also effective for protecting joints, which are often a common problem with sportsmen visiting the gym and undergoing strenuous workouts.

The chemical name of Oxymetholone is 17ß-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethylene)-17-methyl-5a-androstan-3-one and its chemical formula is C₂₁H₃₂O₃.

Anadrol is also effective for improving the count of erythropoietin, the hormone, which is involved in the production of red blood cells. Anadrol users can easily expect an increase in body weight by as much as 10-15 pounds in less than 2 weeks.

The recommended dose of Anadrol is 1-5 mg per kg of body weight. This performance enhancing drug is not meant for individuals having an existing allergy to Anadrol or its ingredients and breastfeeding or pregnant women. When used in contravention or absence of medical advice, use of Anadrol can lead to side effects such as nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, and lack of appetite, insomnia, and diarrhea.

Lupus, which is a chronic inflammatory disease, affecting more than 1 million people in the United States alone can be effectively treated with use of steroids.

The biological rationale as to why large doses of corticosteroids (steroids) administered over several weeks can be of great help to lupus patients was revealed by researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center.

From News-Medical.Net:

Unlike the anabolic steroids athletes sometimes use illegally to bulk up muscle, corticosteroids are routinely used to treat inflammation in lupus patients. The drugs, however, can cause undesirable side effects including weight gain and acne when taken over long periods of time.

In a study published in a recent issue of Nature, researchers at UT Southwestern and other institutions show in blood cells that giving very high doses of intravenous corticosteroids early and frequently in the course of the disease is more effective at killing the cells that drive lupus than giving the standard limited intravenous steroids followed by high doses of oral corticosteroids over a period of months. The cells used came from lupus patients as well as from animal models of lupus.

Dr. Marilynn Punaro, professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern and co-author of the study, remarked that administration of high doses of steroids in the preliminary stages and on a regular basis could greatly help in high steroid doses at a later point of time.

According to researchers at National Jewish Health, the primary controller medication for asthma (glucocorticoids) is 40 percent less effective in overweight and obese patients with asthma when compared to asthmatic patients with normal weight.

This study by Associate Professor of Medicine E. Rand Sutherland, MD, MPH and his colleagues at National Jewish Health was published in an issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

From Sciencedaily.com:

The study at National Jewish Health sought to understand why glucocorticoids, commonly called steroids, might be less effective in overweight and obese asthma patients. Dr. Sutherland and his colleagues enrolled 45 nonsmoking adults, 33 of whom had asthma, and measured the response of cells in the blood and the lungs to the steroid dexamethasone.

Steroids interfere with inflammatory signaling pathways by raising the level of a molecule known as MAP kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1). When the researchers applied the steroid dexamethasone to cultures of the participants’ blood cells, they found that steroids did not increase MKP-1 as effectively in overweight and obese asthmatics when compared to lean asthmatics. Dexamethasone increased the levels of MKP-1 by 5.27 times in cultured blood cells from lean asthma patients, whereas MKP-1 levels in overweight and obese asthmatics increased by only 3.11 times, a 41 percent smaller response. The heavier a person was the less their cells were likely to respond to dexamethasone. This negative relationship between weight and response to steroids did not occur in participants who did not have asthma.

Dr. Sutherland and his colleagues conducted a long-term study to examine the effects of steroid resistance in clinical terms among overweight and obese asthma patients besides clarifying the signaling pathways involved.

Alex Rodriguez, popularly known as A-Rod, would have never realized how much he missed baseball had he didn’t watched the All-Star Game on television last year.

Rodriguez seems like he missed it nonetheless despite his life getting in turmoil like the spring steroids scandal and his comeback from hip surgery in the recent past.

From NYdailynews.com:

“I’m just so happy to be here,” Rodriguez said Monday. “Last year, I didn’t like not being here, but I had gone through a lot of stuff. Being here gives me a lot of perspective of how different I am as a person and as a teammate from 500 home runs to hopefully 600 home runs. To find some perspective in that, it’s pretty interesting.”

That perspective dates back to February 2009, when Rodriguez was outed as a former user of performance-enhancing drugs, a scandal that sullied his reputation as one of the game’s greats. A-Rod’s Tampa press conference to discuss the PED issue raised more questions than it answered, sparking a daily cycle in which more details were revealed about his sordid past.

Then came the hip surgery in early-March 2009 that derailed his spring and cost him the first month of the season, leading some to ask if he would ever again return to his All-Star form. Rodriguez went on to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs last season, but it wasn’t until he helped lead the Yankees to the World Series title last fall that the superstar was able to truly put his contentious year behind him.

Andy Pettitte believes A-Rod was always a part of the All-Star game and it feels like this is the right place where he always belonged.

The Cardinals’ hitting coach, Mark McGwire, remarked in the visiting dugout at Citi Field that he has moved on from the steroid era and does not want to answer any more questions about steroids or from where he got them during his illustrious career spanning 16 years. When asked, McGwire said he will not be judging Alex Rodriguez in his quest for 600 home runs.

McGwire was welcomed back into the Cardinals’ fold in downtown St. Louis during a fan fest.

From NYdailynews.com:

But that was apparently one of the last times McGwire would address his steroid use. Yesterday, when asked if a man named Curtis Wenzlaff provided him with steroids, McGwire responded that he had already “answered all those questions.” Wenzlaff was first identified by the Daily News in 2005, days before the congressional hearing, as the man who provided Big Mac with a powerful array of performance-enhancing drugs early in his career with Oakland. Two FBI sources confirmed the Wenzlaff information, which stemmed from the seminal FBI steroid investigation called “Operation Equine,” carried out in the late ’80s and early ’90s. McGwire’s name surfaced during Equine along with that of A’s teammate Jose Canseco, but the FBI was targeting dealers, not users.

McGwire socked 583 home runs in his career, including a then single-season record 70 in 1998. He admitted in January that his steroid use included the ‘98 season. For the past four years he’s been on the Hall of Fame ballot, McGwire has fallen well short of the 75% vote needed to be elected to Cooperstown. McGwire said that decision is “out of my control.”

It is worth remembering here that McGwire came clean about his long-time use of steroids in January during a televised interview with Bob Costas.

A noteworthy role was portrayed by thirty-eight affiliated medical centers of US Oncology, Inc. nationwide in helping Abraxane’s clinical research to get approved by the FDA.

Abraxane or paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension is classified as the next-generation taxane; it is rated as first-of-its-kind in context of potential albumin-bound nanotechnology class, which has already been approved for helping patients afflicted with metastatic breast cancer.

From News-Medical.Net:

US Oncology conducted a phase 2 clinical trial of Abraxane in patients with metastatic breast cancer who were resistant to taxane drugs and continue to participate in the ongoing clinical development of the drug. Clinical trials of Abraxane have shown that the new drug is superior to solvent-based paclitaxel (commonly marketed as Taxol) in response rate and time to tumor progression.

“Abraxane is a significant advance in how paclitaxel is delivered and provides a much-needed new option for breast cancer patients,” said Joyce A. O’Shaughnessy, M.D., co-director, US Oncology Breast Cancer Research, and director, Breast Cancer Prevention, at Baylor-Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center in Dallas, Texas. “With this human protein nanoparticle form of paclitaxel, patients no longer require steroid premedication to avoid the sometimes life- threatening allergic reactions which occur with current solvent-based paclitaxel therapy.” “In our trials with weekly Abraxane, we saw fewer side effects than observed with solvent-based paclitaxel, and, even more encouraging, we saw a significant response to Abraxane in some women whose cancer had progressed through treatment with taxanes.

It is worthwhile to note here that patients with metastatic breast cancer are required to premedication involving usage of steroids and antihistamines (via slow infusions).

Reduced tolerance to glucose and increased rejection occurrence can be experienced by patients after early withdrawal of steroids post liver transplantation, as per a study published in an issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

From News-Medical.Net:

“Although the incidence of acute rejection in the placebo group was increased, it was easily controlled in most of the cases and did not affect long-term graft histology or survival,” the authors note, adding that the increase may ultimately be acceptable if steroids could be eliminated. However, the main goal of steroid elimination is to reduce metabolic complications and this study showed no difference in cholesterol or hypertension, with a trend toward a decreased incidence of diabetes in the placebo group.

The authors conclude: “Indeed, while there are many arguments in favor of corticosteroid withdrawal beyond 3 months posttransplantation, in terms of safety and efficacy, our study demonstrates that earlier withdrawal at day 14 is not completely safe in terms of rejection, but seems efficient in terms of improvement of glucose tolerability,” which could decrease long-term mortality due to cardiovascular disease.

This first double-blind placebo-controlled study was helpful to stress upon the effects of early withdrawal of steroids.

Ex-gal pal of baseball slugger Roger Clemens, Country singer Mindy McCready, was recently admitted to emergency department of the Cape Coral hospital.

The 34-year old McCready, who has many successful singles and albums to her credit, such as “I’m Still Here,” and a successful stint on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab,” is now in good condition.

From Nydailynews.com:

McCready’s long-term affair with former Yankee Roger Clemens was exposed by the Daily News in April 2008, two months after the Rocket testified before Congress that he never used performance-enhancing drugs. McCready was interviewed by the FBI later that year in conjunction with Clemens’ perjury investigation, and sources have told The News much of the FBI questioning of McCready centered around Clemens’ alleged erectile dysfunction, a common side effect among males who have abused steroids. In McCready’s sex tape that was released earlier this month, she tells an interviewer that Clemens ED problems were frequent when the two were together. McCready has attempted suicide several times since she became a country music star in 1996, including in December 2008 in Nashville.

James Moon, attorney for McCready, remarked that the hospital admission was because of a bad reaction to a pain reliever and nullified all reports of suicide or overdosing as “irresponsible”.