Anabolic steroids - or more precisely, anabolic/androgenic steroids - belong to a group known as ergogenic, or so-called "performance-enhancing," drugs. They Some medical are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, a natural male hormone. "Anabolic" means growing or building. "Androgenic" means "masculinizing" or generating male sexual characteristics.

Most healthy males produce between 2 and 10 milligrams of testosterone a day. (Females do produce some testosterone, but in trace amounts.) The hormone's anabolic effects help the body retain dietary protein, thus aiding growth of muscles, bones, and skin.

Anabolic steroids are designed to mimic the body building traits of testosterone while minimizing its "masculinizing" effects. There are several types, with various combinations of anabolic and androgenic properties. The International Olympics Committee to date has placed 17 anabolic steroids and related compounds on its banned list.

Today it is not only the college football player or the professional weightlifter or the marathon runner who may use anabolic steroids.

It may be an 18-year-old who loathes his skinny body. Or a 15-year old in a hurry to reach maturity.

Or a policeman who wants more muscle power on the job.

And the use of anabolic steroids is not confined to males. Professional and amateur female athletes-track and field competitors, swimmers, bodybuilders-feel the pressure to triumph, too.

Increasing numbers of adolescents are turning to steroids for cosmetic reasons. In a 1986 survey, as many as 45 percent of 200 high school users cited appearance as a primary reason for taking steroids.

Surveys and anecdotal evidence indicate that the rate of nonmedical steroids use may be increasing. In 1990, a NIDA survey of high school seniors showed that nearly 3 percent-5 percent of males and 0.5 percent of females-reported using steroids at some time in their lives. The same survey showed that steroids were used within the last year by nearly as many students as crack cocaine and by more students than the hallucinogenic drug PCP.

Use among college females appears to have increased somewhat. A study of 11 universities in 1984 found that steroids users were reported in only one women's sport-swimming-at a rate of 1 percent. In a follow-up survey in 1988, 1 percent of women in track and field and basketball also reported taking steroids.

Anabolic steroids are usually taken in pill form. Some that cannot be absorbed orally are taken by injection. The normal prescribed daily dose for medical purposes usually averages between 1 and 5 milligrams.

Some athletes, on the other hand, may take up to hundreds of milligrams a day, far exceeding medically recommended dosages.

Operating on the erroneous more-is-better theory, some athletes indulge in a practice known as "stacking." They take many types of steroids, sometimes in combination with other drugs such as stimulants, depressants, pain killers, anti-inflammatories, and other hormones.

Although controlled studies on the long-term outcome of megadosing with anabolic steroids have not been conducted, extensive research on prescribed doses for medical use has documented the potential side effects of the drug, even when taken in small doses. Moreover, reports by athletes, and observations of attending physicians, parents, and coaches do offer substantial evidence of dangerous side effects.

... to Men

Males who take large doses of anabolic steroids typically experience changes in sexual characteristics. Although derived from a male sex hormone, the drug can trigger a mechanism in the body that can actually shut down the healthy functioning of the male reproductive system. Some possible side effects:

• Shrinking of the testicles
• Reduced sperm count
• Impotence
• Baldness
• Difficulty or pain in urinating
• Development of breasts
• Enlarged prostate

... and to Women

Females may experience "masculinization" as well as other problems:

• Growth of facial hair
• Changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle
• Enlargement of the clitoris
• Deepened voice
• Breast reduction

... and to Both Sexes

For both males and females, continued use of anabolic steroids may lead to health conditions ranging from merely irritating to life-threatening. Some effects are:

Anabolic steroids can halt growth prematurely in adolescents. Because even small doses can irreversibly affect growth, steroids are rarely prescribed for children and young adults, and only for the severely ill. The Office of the Inspector General in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has gathered anecdotal evidence that preteens and teens taking steroids may be at risk for developing a dependence on these drugs and on other substances as well 

Scientists are just beginning to investigate the impact of anabolic steroids on the mind and behavior. Many athletes report "feeling good" about themselves while on a steroids regimen. The downside, according to Harvard researchers, is wide mood swings ranging from periods of violent, even homicidal, episodes known as "roid rages" to bouts of depression when the drugs are stopped.

Evidence that megadoses of anabolic steroids can affect the brain and produce mental changes in users poses serious questions about possible addiction to the drugs.

While investigations continue, researchers at Yale University have found that long-term steroids users do experience many of the characteristics of classic addiction: cravings, difficulty in ceasing steroids use and withdrawal symptoms.

Pennsylvania State University researchers studied a group of high school seniors who had developed a psychological, if not physical, dependence on anabolic steroids. Adolescent users exhibit a prime trait of addicts-denial. They tend to overlook or simply ignore the physical dangers and moral implications of taking illegal substances.

Many users maintain their habit with anabolic steroids acquired through a highly organized black market handling up to $400 million worth of the drugs a year.

Until recently most underground steroids were legitimately manufactured pharmaceuticals that were diverted to the black market through theft and fraudulent prescriptions. More effective law enforcement coupled with greater demand forced black marketers to seek new sources.

Now black-market anabolic steroids are either made overseas and smuggled into the United States or are produced in clandestine laboratories in this country. These counterfeit drugs may present greater health risks because they are manufactured without controls and thus may be impure, mislabeled, or simply bogus.

Sales are made in gyms, health dubs, on campuses, and through the mail. Users report that suppliers may be drug dealers or they may be trainers, physicians, pharmacists, or friends.

Anabolic steroids may have a reputation for turning a wimp into a winner or a runt into a hulk, but the truth is that it takes a lot more to be a star athlete.