Anabolic Steroids In Sports

Introduction

In 776 BC the ancient Greeks would eat animal hearts and testicles, followed by drinking wine potions and using hallucinogens. This was the first form of performance enhancing drugs (PEDS). Over the year’s scientist have developed other PEDs that are not wine or hallucinogens. Stanozolol the most used drug, and most popular anabolic steroid ever made, has been linked to professional athletes for many years. , , Stanozolol has many serious side effects including; an allergic reaction, swelling of the arms or legs especially ankles, frequent or persistent erections or breast tenderness or enlargement and voice changes, hair loss, facial hair growth, clitoral enlargement or menstrual irregularities. The argument of whether performance-enhancing

drugs can actually improve performance or can kill athletes has been a contentious issue for many years. The most common question asked by journalist or future users of PEDS is whether they negatively affect the body or not? Many Doctors state that performance-enhancing drugs can have extreme negative affects to the body, but this doesn’t stop thousands of people from using PEDS. Most PED users are athletes; the most common sports are baseball, bodybuilding and cycling.

Performance enhancing drugs
PEDS are substances that are used to improve any form performance in sports the most common PEDS taken by athletes are anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS).

Anabolic androgenic steroids are synthetic variations of the male sex hormone testosterone. Anabolic refers to building of the muscle in humans; androgenic refers to increased male sex characteristics. Although Anabolic androgenic steroids are the most commonly used PEDS there are more than just this one. Procon.com has published a detailed table using information from the world anti-doping agency, showing 192 banned PEDS and the pro’s and con’s of each drug. In the 20th century PEDS grew from their Olympic games origin of being wine and bull testicles to anabolic steroids. The Nazis first used anabolic steroids by testing them on concentration camp prisoners. The first effective PEDS were amphetamines, which were introduced to the world during WW2 and used by soldiers from the American, British and Japanese armies . During the 50’s and 60’s amphetamines were used heavily in cycling . In 1967, British cyclist Tom Simpson was the first death caused by amphetamines in sports. Tom, regarded as Britain's best cyclist of all time, died on the 13th stage of the tour de France. Riding up the ascent of Mont Ventoux, he collapsed and even though nurses tried to resuscitate him they were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead due to heart failure from exhaustion . A post mortem then revealed he was using heavy amounts of

amphetamines.

The effect of prolonged performance enhancing drug use has on the human body
Different PEDS have different effects on the human body, with some having negative affects whilst others have positive effects. AAS have mostly negative effects but when playing sport they can enhance performance. The negative effects include liver damage, baldness, heart problems and stunted growth. Prolonged use of performance enhancing drug use can cause heart and liver problems, which in the long term can lead to liver failure and heart attacks. In females, PEDS can also cause breast enlargement, hair growth on the stomach and face. Prolonged use of PEDS can be deadly. After a post mortem it was revealed that Tom Simpson’s death was due to the heavy use of amphetamines and alcohol causing a heart attack. The first high profile doping case was Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who had his 1988 Olympic gold medal taken off him due to taking the anabolic androgenic steroid, Stanozolol. This drug gave him an advantage over other athletes, as he was able to grow a huge amount of muscle in just a short amount of time. Stanozolol has the same side effects that other Anabolic androgenic steroids do, including changes to the skin such as acne on the arms, chest, back and face. AAS can also cause the pores in the skin to enlarge, making the skin rough. They also cause virilization, an irreversible condition that causes women to develop male-pattern hair growth and other masculine physical traits. Stretch marks on the arms and legs will start to form as muscle is growing at a high pace and the skin doesn’t have enough time to adjust. A majority of performance enhancing drugs affect the human sexual reproductive system. The effects to the male reproductive system include shrinkage of testicles, reduced sperm count and infertility. The effects to the female reproductive system include adverse changes in the menstrual cycle, which can lead to infertility and enlarged clitoris . Many PEDS adversely affect the cardiovascular system, with blood doping being the main one. Blood doping helps endurance athletes because these drugs increase oxygen content in the blood, improving cardiac output . Blood doping can cause heart attacks and strokes. When certain drugs help the body to produce more blood cells, the heart is working harder to pump the extra blood cells through the body. Once the heart is overworked it will possibly fail, leading to heart attacks.

Short term and long term effects of performance enhancing drugs
There are numerous short term effects of PEDS including acne, on the face, back, chest and arms, decreased appetite, mood swings, trouble sleeping, fatigue, decreased sperm count, restlessness/agitation and impotence . The side effects of PEDS are evident from a change to an individual’s outward appearance or through their behavior. Some long-term effects of abuse cannot be observed. Although PED use does not trigger the same intense, immediate response in the brain as other substances like cocaine, it can create changes to the brain over time . The long term effects of PEDS are, anger and aggression, including roid rage, strokes, paranoia, kidney failure, delusion, liver tumors, and blood borne diseases from injections .

Effects PEDS have on the immune system
Most drugs have negative effects on the immune system. PEDS have serious effects on the immune system, including deadly effects such as heart attacks and strokes. Blood doping seriously affects the immune system. A form of blood doping is taking a drug that increases the amount of red blood cells in the body, helping athletes to compete for longer durations of time, but seriously affecting their immune system. Increasing the amount of blood cells in the body means that the heart has to pump more blood through the body causing the heart to work harder which can consequently cause a heart attack. Performance enhancing drugs affect the cardiovascular system (CVS) in the long term. Anabolic steroids affect the CVS as they commonly cause heart attacks. Another common side effect of anabolic steroids is not enough blood pumping through the heart due to ventricular hypertrophy which occurs when the walls of the heart’s main pumping chamber thicken in response to high blood pressure. Performance enhancing drugs also cause arterial thrombosis, which is a blood clot in the artery, which can be fatal. Mortality among athletes using AAS is estimated to be 6 to 20. Approximately one third of these deaths can be attributed to cardiovascular diseases, like Cardiomyopathy, myocardial and heart abnormities.

The positive effects of taking performance and enhancing drugs
In the past people looked up upon exceptional athletes, and believed that they trained endlessly to become the best in their sport, but today when an athlete breaks a record people immediately suspect that PEDS are involved.

Rarely does the media cover the positive effects of performance enhancing drugs. In 1998 Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson broke the 100 meter sprint record in the Olympics in Seoul. Three weeks later he was then found to be taking PEDS. Ben Johnson is only 5’8 and weighs 75 kg and is considered as a little man, but he was pure muscle. Scientist has confirmed that steroids increase the rate of protein synthesis allowing the body to grow muscle tissue faster than the normal rate. This helps athletes to build muscle in short periods of time, which is why the athletes who take steroids look so much bigger than the normal clean athletes. Blood doping is another form of performance enhancing drug that has both positive and negative affects to the human body. Athletes use synthetic oxygen carriers to achieve better performance in long duration sports like cycling . These drugs increase oxygen in the blood helping to fuel muscles. The positive effects of blood doping are that it helps endurance athletes train longer or perform at a higher level for longer periods of time . All performance-enhancing drugs have some negative effects to the human

body.

Conclusion
In this report I have spoken about performance-enhancing drugs and how they affect the human body. After reading all information I have an understanding of what PEDS do to the body. I have come to the conclusion that PEDS if taken should be taken in a controlled environment. However in my own opinion I believe that people shouldn’t take this drug, because it can have adverse health effects. PEDS in my mind are a form of cheating, a easy way out. To conclude this report, I have found that PEDS can have negative and positive effects to the body the effects are mostly negative.