Long Term Studies

[Scabtree]

I was wondering if anyone has come across a long term study of the effects of steroids from an accredited university or R&D group. The reason I ask is that I haven't been able to find any.

Many people say liver damage, kidney failure, heart issues... and so on. And of course there are individuals such as Mike Mazzarato, Flex Wheeler, Danny Padilla, Tom Prince, etc that have had these sorts of issues; but is that a direct effect of steroid use, or abuse? And does anyone know of steroid studies?

[Sauced_Up]

It will be hard to find studies of direct effects of steroids on humans as it goes against research ethics. What I can tell you is steroids are know to wreck havoc on lipids, HDL, LDL, VLDL, blood pressure, as well as having some toxic properties due to structures of the compounds. There is a correlation of steroid use and cardiovascular disease. Anyone who says this is incorrect is just ignorant.

[awesome1]

The truth is that there are very very few of them. They are schedule III drugs which prohibits a lot of medical studies. Unfortunately we have to rely on much anecdotal evidence.

[ijbickerdike]

I found a study which was SHOCKING!!!!!!!
Paracetomol kills more than steroids, and you can find that ****er in you cupboard!
I have got a DVD which he states that steroids have only killed a handful of people eg wrestlers but after the toxiology reports found cocaine in them including amphetamine aswell you can draw your own conclusion.

Fact 1 Alcohol is the most dangerous drug going
Fact 2 Alcohol rates more dangerous than steroids
Fact 3 You have more chance of getting hit by a bus than steroids killing you

[themoreyouknow]

since steroids are illegal in the US there are and probably never will be any studies or long term studies..

[Scabtree]

Thanks for your answers; good in site.

[Swifto]

The most shocking stories I have heard/read about are those with cardiovascular problems, some very serious and they swear its from AAS abuse (large doses, very infrequent breaks, little cardio, etc...).

'Maldorf' here and at PM.com (pm me if you'd like the addy) blames mostly steroids on his heart attack(s).

You also have other user's, such as Big Papper, T-Mos who died from heart problems, that may/may not be attributed to steroid use/abuse. I dont think steroids killed these people, but it sure as f*ck didnt help their situations.

[Swifto]

Circ Heart Fail. 2010 Jul 1;3(4):472-6. Epub 2010 Apr 27.

Long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid use is associated with left ventricular dysfunction.

Baggish AL, Weiner RB, Kanayama G, Hudson JI, Picard MH, Hutter AM Jr, Pope HG Jr.

Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass 02114, USA. [email protected]
Comment in:

Circ Heart Fail. 2010 Nov 1;3(6):e30; author reply e31.
Circ Heart Fail. 2010 Jul 1;3(4):470-1.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although illicit anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use is widespread, the cardiac effects of long-term AAS use remain inadequately characterized. We compared cardiac parameters in weightlifters reporting long-term AAS use to those in otherwise similar weightlifters without prior AAS exposure.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed 2D tissue-Doppler and speckle-tracking echocardiography to assess left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV systolic strain, and conventional indices of diastolic function in long-term AAS users (n=12) and otherwise similar AAS nonusers (n=7). AAS users (median [quartile 1, quartile 3] cumulative lifetime AAS exposure, 468 [169, 520] weeks) closely resembled nonusers in age, prior duration of weightlifting, and current intensity of weight training. LV structural parameters were similar between the two groups; however, AAS users had significantly lower LV ejection fraction (50.6% [48.4, 53.6] versus 59.1% [58.0%, 61.7%]; P=0.003 by two-tailed Wilcoxon rank sum test), longitudinal strain (16.9% [14.0%, 19.0%] versus 21.0% [20.2%, 22.9%]; P=0.004), and radial strain (38.3% [28.5%, 43.7%] versus 50.1% [44.3%, 61.8%]; P=0.02). Ten of the 12 AAS users showed LV ejection fractions below the accepted limit of normal (>or=55%). AAS users also demonstrated decreased diastolic function compared to nonusers as evidenced by a markedly lower early peak tissue velocity (7.4 [6.8, 7.9] cm/s versus 9.9 [8.3, 10.5] cm/s; P=0.005) and early-to-late diastolic filling ratio (0.93 [0.88, 1.39] versus 1.80 [1.48, 2.00]; P=0.003).

CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac dysfunction in long-term AAS users appears to be more severe than previously reported and may be sufficient to increase the risk of heart failure.

PMID: 20424234 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC2909423 [Available on 2011/1/1]

[MuscleScience]

since steroids are illegal in the US there are and probably never will be any studies or long term studies..

The Chinese have no such ethical qualms when it comes to this. They have undertook a massive study to look at male contraception and fertility. They are plagued by huge population growth. Current estimates are at about 1.3 billion people according to some sources. They are in the midst of a new census right now and may have even larger estimates than that. I think new data is suppose to be released by March?(don't hold me to that)

Going back to the study, which is a national project. They looked at the effects of Testosterone (and other AAS's) administration as a possible male contraceptive. I am sure most have seen some of the studies from this project that have been circulation. (or rumored to be) Western journals probably wont publish a lot of work out of this because of ethical concerns associated with each journals own policies. Another factor is that it will take years to interpret data and do all the follow up studies required.

[Scabtree]

Thanks Swifto, that's really interesting for sure...

[Times Roman]

go to the life extension magazine. substitute the word testosterone for steriods and viola! just this month alone there was an article how test can benefit the aging