Your Steroid Resource

Even If the most conscientious consumer sifted through the mountains of available information and then carefully weighed each source of the information prior to making a determination if a product was safe, it would take hundreds of hours for some products. Even after completing the research, the consumer is at a distinct disadvantage in trying to determine safe from unsafe and good from bad.

An “overly broad warning” and Public Health Advisory (PHA) from the FDA on the dangers of anabolic steroids has served only to confuse the public more. In their advisory, the FDA set forth only a few unlisted ingredients in Body Building type products: containing androgen-, estrogen-, and progestin-related active ingredients. But, public information like this does as much to confuse or fail to engage with a confused, non-scientific public. Mistrust of the Government is an epidemic and is as much caused by a failure to inform the consumer about dangers in a way that any consumer will understand.

Anabolic Steroids are synthetically produced variations of testosterone a naturally occurring male hormone. The two major effects of these steroids are an “anabolic effect”; an often unnatural building of tissues, mainly muscle, accomplished by the promotion of protein synthesis.

People abusing steroids may take up to 100 times a normal dosage and more than one at a time (called stacking); alternate with high dose, then low dose (called cycling); or slowly escalate the dosage amount (called pyramiding). Anabolic Steroids are so widespread now that users include school-age children, athletes, business professionals, and a growing trend of woman striving to have the perfect physique.

The progression of steroid use caused the FDA, DEA and Federal law to place anabolic steroids in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, placed 32 additional steroids in Schedule III and expanded the DEA’s regulatory and enforcement authority relating to steroids. Unfortunately, this has resulted in manufacturers becoming cleverer in the delivery of their product to the market and they have found a loophole through the unregulated Dietary Supplement Industry.

Many consumers are under the impression that all “steroids” have been banned and are off the shelf. The scary fact is that only the ones that have been identified by the FDA are safely out of consumer products. New formulations are being developed that do not require FDA approval because the ingredients are “listed” as Dietary Supplements” and have successfully flown under the radar of the FDA.

The belief that these products are safe is a dangerous one. In some respects, these “dietary supplement” products are more dangerous because they either contain actual banned steroids or compounds in the products can have the same medical consequences.

In recent years, mostly as a result of failed drug testing in athletes, it has it been discovered that synthetic pro hormones or anabolic steroids are being used as Dietary Supplements. Although the marketed product may not contain actually banned steroids, it may contain substances that have not yet been approved by the FDA or properly evaluated by the manufacturer. As was seen in 2003 when U.S. track and field athletes tested positive for THG, they were caused by legally obtained products derived from synthetic steroids, trenbolone and gestrinone, and they were ultimately banned.

According to the DEA, the following three steroids meet the criteria for “anabolic steroids” under the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 (”Classification of Three Steroids as Schedule III Anabolic Steroids Under the Controlled Substances Act,” April 25).”

• Boldione (aka androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione)
• Desoxymethyltestosterone (aka DMT and 17a-methyl-5a-androst-2-en-17b-ol)
• 19-nor-4,9(10)-androstadienedione (aka 19-norandrosta-4,9(10)-diene-3,17-dione and esta-4,9(10)-diene-3,17-dione)

A recent study revealed contamination of approximately 25% of popular dietary supplements in the U.S. with low levels of steroids that were not declared on the product label. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) conducted a study between 2000 and 2002 that revealed “15% of dietary supplements, purchased in various countries, contained undeclared steroid and/or prohormone ingredients.”

Some explanations for the high incidence of steroids and stimulants found in sports supplements according to the DEA are:

1. Intentional contamination. There have been allegations that some supplement companies may have added undeclared ingredients, usually by the addition of a stimulant, so that the consumer actually “feels” that the product is working. For example, the overall success of the sports nutrition supplement industry is largely due to the “placebo effect” - if the consumer “feels” something from the supplement, they think it is working. Consumers are convinced that if it “feels” like it is working, it may actually have benefit (placebo) and they will continue to buy the product.
2. Cross-contamination. Many factories manufacturer varieties of different categories of supplements in the same facility. For example, ephedrine products may be processed on the same equipment as vitamin and mineral products; hormonal products may be processed on same line as protein powders. If the equipment is not cleaned properly, contamination can result.
3. Contaminated raw material. Supplement manufacturers often import raw materials from Asia, India and Eastern Europe. This could be contaminated with impurities.

The dietary supplement industry is a “buyer beware”; consumer educate thyself industry. Although responsible, careful manufacturers exist, the ingredients are largely unregulated and the quality is not consistently verified.

The purchase of dietary supplements is one of those areas in which the consumer must educate themselves; ask questions, research, and carefully consider. The FDA simply does not have the resources to gain control over drugs and medical devices. Although remarks delivered on 8/9/09, by newly installed FDA Chief Margaret Hamburg gives new hope, the public should still not rely on the FDA to manage the dietary supplement industry at this point:

“Last week, we took action against companies selling anabolic steroids under the guise of dietary supplements.

One manufacturer, American Cellular Labs, sells eight of these products on its website. The site promotes the products with claims like, “MASS Xtreme is perfect if you are focused on adding muscle mass, power and strength to your physique,” and “ESTRO Xtreme… You get two estrogen blocking effects in one fantastic product!”

In fact, these over-the-counter body-building products have been associated with serious and life-threatening adverse events, including liver injury, stroke, kidney failure, and pulmonary embolism.

These are unproven and unapproved drugs, not dietary supplements.”

FRIDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) — A single dose of a corticosteroid, given along with antibiotics, can relieve severe sore throat pain faster and more effectively than antibiotics alone, a new study suggests.“In people with severe sore throat, a single dose of an oral steroid is effective in relieving pain in 24 and 48 hours,” said researcher Dr. Carl Heneghan, the deputy director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford in the U.K.

This treatment is not advised for a mild sore throat, which will go away by itself, Heneghan stressed.

“If you turn up at your emergency department and you have really bad tonsillitis and you are in a lot of pain, an additional treatment is to take a single dose of a corticosteroid,” he explained.

The report is published in the Aug. 7 online edition of BMJ.

Corticosteroids relieve pain by reducing inflammation and are commonly prescribed for conditions such as asthma and croup. Their use as a pain reliever for sore throat could help reduce the need for antibiotics, which can be overused and help create resistant bacteria, the U.K. researchers say.

For the study, Heneghan’s group analyzed eight trials comparing the effectiveness of corticosteroids to placebo in adults or children with severe sore throats. In total, the studies included 743 patients, 369 of whom were children.

The researchers found that patients given corticosteroids plus antibiotics were three times more likely to report having no pain 24 hours after treatment compared with patients given antibiotics and a placebo.

After two days this effect was less apparent, which suggests that a single dose of corticosteroids is all that is needed, according to the researchers. In addition, corticosteroids also reduced the time it took to relieve pain by about six hours.

Heneghan’s team noted that significant pain relief was only observed in adult patients and not in children receiving corticosteroids.

In addition, other painkillers made no difference in the results, the researchers found.

“What we don’t know is: do corticosteroids replace antibiotics?” Heneghan stated. “That’s another piece of research we would like to do,” he said.

Dr. Julie Wei, an assistant professor of otolaryngology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, agreed that steroids work well in relieving severe sore throat pain, but she cautioned that they are not a substitute for antibiotics, which treat the infection, not the pain.

“The use of steroid should never be for the purpose of replacing antibiotics,” Wei said. “Based on the current information, that is not the conclusion people should have.”

Single-dose steroid use is already a common practice, Wei said. “For example, all my pediatric patients undergoing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy get a single dose intravenously at the time of surgery, because steroids are the most potent anti-nausea, anti-vomiting medication we have,” she said.

Single-dose steroids also help improve eating and drinking, and feeling good, Wei said. “Also, people in the emergency room or children admitted for throat abscess usually get a single dose of steroids if they are having severe pain or difficulty opening their mouth due to inflammation. We ENTs already recommend that commonly,” she added.

“The bottom line is, it is already commonly used in anesthesia, ER setting, etc., but does not replace antibiotics,” Wei said.

Unlike some baseball writers who vote for the Hall of Fame, I refuse to take the hard line against steroids when it comes to baseball’s most sacred honor.  Rather, those players who come up for debate must be evaluated on an individual basis and subjected to a set of criteria that should be applied across the board.  You may notice that I pay no attention to whether or not a player has admitted using, or tested positive for steroids, and this is where I think the writers come up short.  Just because a player has not tested positive means only one of two things – either he is clean, or he hasn’t been caught.  With that, here is my criteria, which I’ll put to practice and apply to a few possible Hall of Famers in future posts:
 

• There are no “magic numbers”: 500 homers no longer generates an automatic ticket to Cooperstown
• Consider the whole skill set: This should eliminate the one-dimensional players
• How does he rank amongst his peers?: A combination of the first two points – though the numbers may look good at the end, where did he rank amongst his peers on a season-to-season basis?

Baseball is a game that can be looked at in “eras.”  There was the “dead-ball era,” the “live-ball era,” and the era in which the pitchers’ mound was raised and batting averages were lowered.  There is nothing about this era that warrants any special consideration – players, and statistics, are judged amongst those they played with – and that’s exactly what I’m proposing we get back to doing.  Coming up, I’ll take a look at a few players (past and present) to see how they stack up using my proposed criteria.

Today’s top bands and musicians come together to raise awareness about the improper use of steroids among their colleagues. Their campaign kicks off with a benefit concert for Urbanation’s lead singer Lance Bañaga tomorrow, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. at Off the Grill in Timog, Quezon City.  

A few weeks ago, Lance almost died while confined at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital due to pneumonia triggered by the breakdown of his immune system. Previously, Lance had been taking steroids to numb the pain in his throat; he overdosed on the steroids and this led to his hospitalization.  

Lance’s mother, movie line producer Jo-Ann Bañaga, says, “His fellow musicians were alarmed at this behavior which I think is a bit common among those working in the music industry; some of them really use steroids.”

CLEVELAND — A local doctor was indicted for illegally writing prescriptions for steroids Monday, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office. Craig Romey, Angel Otero, and Anthony Tuleta were indicted for illegally purchasing the steroids. Tuleta is a Cleveland police officer. Dr. Scruggs, 61, of Santa Ana, California, prescribed steroids over the internet for non-medical purposes from January 2003 to June 2007. Prosecutors said Romey, Otero, and Tuleta illegally bought and submitted insurance claims to Medical Mutual. Medical Mutual contacted the Drug Enforcement Agency after it identified excessive amounts of steroids being prescribed. Scruggs was indicted on 13 counts of drug trafficking. He faces a maximum sentence of 39 ½ years in prison. Romey was indicted on four counts of possession of drugs and one count of Theft. He faces a maximum sentence of 16 ½ years in prison. Otero was indicted on three counts of possession of drugs and one count of theft. He faces a maximum sentence of 6 years in prison. Tuleta was indicted on six counts of possession of drugs and one count of Theft. He faces a maximum sentence of 24 ½ years in prison.