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Anabolic steroids

Steroids are well known chemical compounds which exhibit significant physiological activity. Steroids having a keto group at the 3-position are especially important in this regard. Steroids play an important role in life processes being the basic structure for the male and female hormones, corticosteroids and bile acids, as well as the basis for many synthetic reagents, such as synthetic male and female hormones, and anti-inflammatory agents. 5-alpha-steroids of the androstane series are presently utilized as anabolic agents and fertility control drugs and as intermediates in the preparation of such agents and drugs. Anabolic steroids, such as testosterone and natural and synthetic derivatives and substitutes, affect many metabolic activities such as muscular development and fat distribution. Administration of anabolic steroids tend to take users past their natural or genetic limits to create body size and muscle mass beyond that which is optimal to the genetic makeup of the individual and past that which can be effectively supported by the various organs of the body. Androgens are the anabolic steroid hormones controlling muscle and skeletal mass, the maturation of the reproductive system, the development of secondary sexual characteristics and the maintenance of fertility in the male. Testosterone is the principal male hormone and is required for the development and maintenance of secondary sexual characteristics, libido and spermatogenesis. Testosterone also has anabolic properties, in promoting in muscle growth and maintenance. Lower than normal testosterone levels in men have been associated with low energy, frailty, depression, decreased libido, weakness, lethargy, loss of lean body and bone mass and impotence. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), is produced from testosterone. DHT is a potent androgen. It is believed to be responsible for prostate growth and inhibitors of the enzyme that forms it have been used to treat prostatic hypertrophy and benign prostate hyperplasia. In women, testosterone is converted to estrogen in most target tissues, but androgens themselves may play a role in normal female physiology, for example, in the brain. The chief androgen found in serum is testosterone, and this is the effective compound in tissues such as the testes and pituitary. In prostate and skin, testosterone is converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by the action of 5.alpha.-reductase. DHT is a more potent androgen than testosterone because it binds more strongly to the androgen receptor. Human growth hormone (hGH) is a single chain polypeptide hormone containing 191 amino acids and two disulfide bonds. hGH is synthesized by the somatotropic cells of the anterior pituitary and plays an important role in somatic growth through its effects on the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids.

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