In the 1995 Monitoring the Future Study, conducted by NIDA with funding provided by the University of Michigan, about 2% of students in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades had used anabolic steroids at least once in their lives. Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone. Their use, by athletes and others, increases strength, lean muscle mass and the ability to train longer and harder. However, anabolic steroids have been known to produce severe emotional and physical side effects. For adolescents, a serious side effect can be premature skeletal maturation, or stunted growth. Other risks include severe acne, jaundice, trembling, high blood pressure and liver tumors. In addition, clinical depression often occurs when use of anabolic steroids is stopped, a factor which may lead to dependence.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

"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."

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

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.

"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.

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.

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 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.

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