Although the actual rate of adverse psychiatric effects is difficult to measure, he notes that studies have found higher rates of psychiatric effects among weight-training users of steroids than comparable non-users. Brower, who recently testified at a highly publicized congressional hearing about anabolic steroid use, says the drugs can worsen the usual degree of psychological upset during adolescence. “It can be difficult to detect when young athletes or adolescents are using steroids, so parents and coaches need to know what to look for,” he says. “One of the reasons it can be difficult is because some of the things that you see, such as weight gain and mood swings are things that you would expect to see in adolescents.” How can you tell if the mood swings, weight gain and acne are just part of growing up, or if they are related to steroid use? Brower says to watch for intense dietary regimens that go along with frequent and prolonged periods of weight training.

“People become very focused on how often they need to work out, how much they need to work out, how much they eat, what kinds of foods they need to eat,” he says, “and they may even get irritable when they’re not able to do those things.”

Some warning signs should prompt parents to seek professional help for their kids, such as when they become violent or aggressive with friends, family or strangers; when they aren’t eating or sleeping; when parents discover their children are hanging around with other kids who are doing drugs; or when they are talking about suicide.

Parents don't have to sit helplessly by when they suspect -- or know -- their child is using a performance-enhancing drug. They should find out why their child is interested in using drugs and where the pressure is coming from. Is he or she getting wrong information from peers or from somebody at the gym?

An athletic boost in the short term may mean health problems in the long term for teens who use performance-enhancing drugs, warns a youth sports medicine specialist from the University of Michigan Health System

The toxicology report on Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler released today implicates the use of the herbal supplement ephedra in his death, and underscores once more the dangers of ephedra use, particularly when combined with other risk factors.

Many physicians feel that some dietary supplements' should be considered drugs' because they contain known active ingredients, whereas dietary supplements' have little or no physiologic effects.

Leading research scientists are saying  that the detection of EPO and HGH abuse is quite difficult because they appear only in very very small quantities in body fluids. EPO increases oxygen uptake to the working muscles, and HGH improves muscle growth.

Wadler, who is attending the ACSM Annual Meeting in St. Louis this week, said that the subject of steroid use in baseball peaked in 1998, when Mark McGwire admitted to the use of the testosterone precursor, androstenedione.

Proposed a warning label for all ephedra-containing dietary supplements. The proposed label warns about the risks of serious adverse events, including seizure, heart attack, stroke, and even death.

Scientists are increasingly concerned that sophisticated techniques for evading drug tests will make it difficult for testers to catch athletes using steroids and other drugs, especially at future athletic competitions when genetic-based enhancements are expected to be prevalent.

"The benefits of higher testosterone levels have a down side, however," Booth notes. "Some, but not all, men with elevated levels of testosterone are more likely to engage in behavior that negates the beneficial effects of testosterone."

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made an announcement that a series of actions aimed at protecting US citizens from the potential grave risks associated with dietary supplements that contain ephedra.

The controversy over drug use in athletics has also led to Senator John McCain offering help from a Legislative level. Major League Baseball and the International Olympic Committee are continuing investigations and seeking out possible reform to existing policies relating to the use of steroids and other drugs.

USA Football has joined with a group of the nation's leading public health, medical and sports organizations to support legislation that relates to the regulation of dietary supplements that contain steroid precursors like ephedra.

The average layperson might think age 10 a bit of a stretch. But according to several drug-use experts at The University of Montana, ergogenics aren't just for college and professional athletes. Their use starts as early as middle school and is common among high school athletes.

Recent studies suggest that steroid abuse among teenagers is on the rise. The study indicates that students at the 8th grade level (and even younger) are beginning to experiment with steroids with little understanding of their potential deadly side effects.

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"We are not sure why women's testosterone elevation prior to competition is so much greater than it is in men. It is probably due to the fact that every day levels of testosterone are four times higher in men than they are in women.