Science Meets Fitness & Exercise
Anabolic Steroids - An Analysis
Introduction
In every gymnasium throughout the land, rhetoric and verbalisations surrounding the sphere of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). Athlete like Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones and more recently Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell have all brought the drugs and steroid debate in to sharp media focus and into the eyes of the general public. Whenever these drugs are mentioned they are always portrayed as a negative factor. A harbinger of death and destruction! But what is the truth behind these ergogenic aids? What weight should we lend to the claims that these drugs can negatively affect health or even ‘kill’? Also, how valid is the claim that these drugs can enhance performance?
In respect of these questions, what follows are three articles. The first article, ‘The Science Behind Steroids’ will adopt a simplistic 'look' at what these drugs are and what their supposed method of action is? The second article, entitled ‘Side Effects of Anabolic Steroids’ will look at the negative theories behind steroid utilisation and the third and final article will look at the effectiveness of steroid use, in an article entitled ‘Steroids and Performance enhancement’.
So with our preamble over let us now look at the theories and science behind androgenic-anabolic steroids.
The use of performance-enhancing drugs can be traced back as far as 776 BC. Greek athletes would use viscous opium juice for its amphetamine-type effect and they would allegedly chew bulls testicles to extract 'testostreone' from them to increase their strength.
The Science Behind Steroids
There are two naturally occurring types of steroid which have widely different functionalities in the maintenance of homeostasis within the human body. These are corticosteroids and androgenic anabolic steroids.
Corticosteroids are produced naturally by the adrenal glands located above the kidneys. Corticosteroids may be found in two formats; those being ‘glucocorticoids’ and ‘mineralocorticoids’. An example of a glucocorticoid is Cortisol. Cortisol has many varied roles including; regulation of blood sugar levels, regulation of metabolism and also anti inflammatory roles. An example of a mineralocorticoid is aldosterone. This corticosteroid controls water and electrolyte levels. In terms of medical applications, corticosteroids can be used to treat medical issues ranging from asthma to rheumatoid arthritis.
However, these steroids are not the ones that the government, sporting bodies and the media denounce and depict as being ‘ corrupt’, ‘dangerous’ or ‘deadly’! That particular brand of steroid is called ‘androgenic-anabolic steroids’. Androgenic refers to the premise that the steroid has ‘masculinising effects’ which could include the development of secondary male sexual characteristics such as body hair or development of genitalia. Anabolic refers to the fact that the steroid can create ‘anabolism’; a state in which ‘macro-molecular’ synthesis takes place. For example, in the realm of bodybuilding, this could refer to muscle cell hypertrophy.
Now it is not within the remit of this article to identify and discuss the physiological principles by which AAS exert their influence on the various cells of the body. However, an overview of the theory behind the use of AAS might be of benefit at this juncture.
In order to repair damaged muscle tissue a naturally derived hormone termed testosterone is released by Leydig cells in the testes. Testosterone is a 19-carbon steroid hormone which belongs to the androgen class of hormones. Among its many roles, testosterone increases the rate of protein synthesis. This results in increased hypertrophy and thus increased strength. In addition to the increased protein synthesis, testosterone also reduces the catabolic effects of Cortisol. The simplistic premise behind the use of AAS is that ‘more is better’ i.e. injecting AAS increases protein synthesis and reduces catabolism more than by natural means alone. In addition to this premise, by manipulating the ‘chemistry’ of these synthetically derived hormones, even more exciting physiological outcomes are possible. For example, trenbolone, a synthetic androgenic steroid has the potential not only to increase muscle mass but also to decrease body fat levels.
Having now identified that the principle behind AAS utilisation is to increase the amount of testosterone in the blood and thus availability to muscle; how much testosterone does a male naturally produce per day? The average 20 year old male will produce between 6mg and 8mg of this hormone per day. The predominance of the hormone is produced in the morning and the production tapers off throughout the day. Testosterone production levels peak in males at around the 25 to 30 year old juncture. Another factor that must be considered is that as a male grows more mature in years their natural testosterone production significantly decreases. Decreases occur at around 1.5% per year after peak production has been realised. This means that at the age of 50 years the average male has 30% less testosterone being produced. So how does this relate to AAS utilisation? Well let’s reconsider our 20 year old male who is producing approximately 50mg of testosterone per week. If he was to take just a one 1ml injection of Sustanon 250; a highly popular AAS; he would now have, in just that one injection, 165mg of testosterone available to his cells. When you consider that many beginners inject as much as 500 – 750mg per week in their initial cycles you now gain an understanding of the advantage of AAS interventions and the potential for huge increases in anabolism.
There are a few more factors to consider in respect of AAS. Firstly let us deal with the androgenic anabolic ratio. Many steroids have been synthetically produced to reduce the androgenic effects while increasing the anabolic effects. However, it is a general rule of thumb that the steroids with the greatest anabolic effect also have the greatest androgenic effect. For example, Nap 50’s or Anadrol (oxymetholone); is one of the strongest anabolic compounds available. However, it also has a highly androgenic effect and would therefore be unsuitable for female athletes who wished to remain ‘de-masculinised’.
Now let us discuss one more significant factor, ‘aromatization’.
Aromatization refers to the natural process that occurs in the body which results in the conversion of testosterone into oestrogen. This process is carried out to maintain a homeostatic environment. It is termed aromatization due to the fact that an enzyme called aromatase carries out the conversion. Testosterone converts more readily to oestrogen in later life in males due to increased aromatase activity. In addition to this aromatase is predominantly found in fat cells so individuals with greater fat cell deposition are more likely to suffer testosterone to oestrogen conversions, which in turn can lead to greater deposition of body fat. A vicious circle indeed! With respect to steroid utilisation, the greater the testosterone content in the cells, the greater will be the potential for aromatization to occur. This is an issue because the effects of increased oestrogen production are feminisation of the male. This could include factors such as ‘Gynecomastia’; which is the development of ‘breast’ tissue in the male subject. A somewhat irreversible condition that results in unsightly growths, usually around the nipples.
Anadrol (Oxymetholone) is Considered One of the Strongest Steroids
There are some steroids that do not aromatize such as Anavar (Oxandrolone). But as has been stated previously, the more potent AAS do have a high potential for this mechanism to occur. With this in mind, there are methods for minimising such factors. For example, Clomid, a selective oestrogen receptor modulator, while not having the ability to decrease testosterone conversion to oestrogen; can block the cell receptor sites to which oestrogen might attach. It does so by binding to those sites itself. Another more powerful drug called Arimidex (Anastrozole) may also be used in the battle against aromatization. Arimidex is used in the treatment of female breast cancer. Breast cancer is exasperated by the conversion of androgens to oestrogen through the aromatization process. Breast cancer cells flourish within oestrogen environments. Arimidex has the ability to inhibit the aromatase enzyme from carrying out the conversion process and so less oestrogen is produced. In the case of AAS utilisation, Arimidex may be used while on a cycle or post cycle to reduce aromatization of the increased testosterone now present in the body.
Drugs Such as Clomid or Arimidex Can Reduce the Effects of Aromitization
Now we have determined a basic understanding of how AAS work and why an individual might gain some advantage from taking them; it is now necessary to examine what side effects an individual might experience if he/she were to implement an AAS cycle into their training regimen. This will be the subject discussed in part 2.
- End of Part One -