Steroids

The term steroids represents a broad class of either naturally occurring or manmade chemical compounds. Although different types of steroids are made by the human body, which serve a myriad of physiologic functions, it is anabolic steroids that have both become popular among athletes and body-builders, as well as adolescents, young adults, and others. Such chemicals have become subject to federal regulation in the United States as well as several other countries. Use of anabolic steroids escalated from the 1940s through the 1970s, especially in competitive sports.

In 1975 the International Olympic Committee added such steroids to its list of banned substances. In 1988 the 100-meter Olympic champion Ben Johnson lost his gold medal after an anabolic steroid, stanozolol, was detected in his urine. This highly ...