Anabolic steroids (AS) have been used for a variety of therapeutic and nontherapeutic purposes. AS are derivatives of the male sex hormone, testosterone.
In the mid-1930s two research groups, Ruzicka and Wettstein and Butenandt and Hanisch, isolated androstenedione and converted it to what is now known as testosterone. Following this research the anabolic properties of testosterone were documented (Kochakian, 1935, 1975; Kochakian and Murlin, 1935).
Since these discoveries, various research groups have made modifications to the basic structure of testosterone and produced a range of closely related compounds that are marketed as anabolic steroids. The purpose of the majority of these modifications has been to dissociate the androgenic (masculinizing) properties from the anabolic properties, although this has not yet been successfully achieved (Kochakian, 1993a).
Recommended Readings
- Early discoveries of the anabolic and androgenic properties of testosterone
- Effects of testosterone and related substances upon humans
- Early uses of testosterone and its derivatives
- The use of testosterone and anabolic steroids for ergogenic purposes
- The use of anabolic steroids in sports
- The non-competitive use of anabolic steroids
- Potential sources of error and misrepresentation
- Prevalence of Anabolic Steroids use among adolescents and young people
- Prevalence of Anabolic Steroids use among adult females
- Prevalence of Anabolic Steroids use among adult males
- Prevalence of Anabolic Steroids use among elite athletes
- The indications for prevalence of Anabolic Steroids use in the UK
- Needle and syringe exchange figures for prevalence of Anabolic Steroids use
- Social implications of the psychological effects of Anabolic Steroids use
- Current therapeutic applications of Anabolic Steroids
- Legal status of Anabolic Steroids
- Anabolic steroids: a social problem?
