how these drugs work

Can supplements and performance-enhancing drugs improve your performance? Here's what the research says.

Anabolic steroids

Some athletes take anabolic steroids to increase their muscle mass and strength. The main anabolic steroid hormone produced by your body is testosterone.

Testosterone has 2 main effects on your body:

• Anabolic effects promote muscle building.
• Androgenic effects are responsible for male traits, such as facial hair and a deeper voice.

The anabolic steroids that athletes use are synthetic modifications of testosterone. These drugs were developed in an attempt to maximize the anabolic effects and minimize the androgenic effects of testosterone. As it turns out, these 2 actions of testosterone can't be separated.

Given by pill, injection or topical treatment, these hormones have many medical uses. Some of these include replacement therapy for men deficient in testosterone, helping people with AIDS maintain muscle mass and reduce muscle wasting, and treating rare types of anemia.