The use of anabolic steroids in our society has widely grown. According to my anatomy book, these steroids produce an increase in muscle size, which gives advantages to athletes. This increase in muscle can help the athlete overcome certain tasks asked to be done when in contest with other athletes. However, as I know myself, these “roids”, which they are sometimes referred to as, are being taken in stronger doses by these athletes. For example, I know a guy who got distinctively strong in a very short amount of time as a result of this large dose. My concern, however, is not for the strength of the athlete but is for the athlete’s health in the long run. As my book says, these “roids” can cause many side effects, such as liver cancer, increased aggression, and increased risk of heart disease. Therefore, I have researched and found information about one in particular, the Anabolic- Androgenic Steroid (AAS).
According to the McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School investigators, this long-term use and large dose of AAS could affect a person’s ability to recognize relationships between objects. A research psychiatrist, Harrison Pope, conducted a study consisting of 5 cognitive tests that examined brain functions. These 5 cognitive tests included maintaining attention, speed of processing information, remembering a list of words, and the location of shapes and objects. The results were that many of the long- term users ended up doing worse on the pattern recognition part of the test. Pope and his colleagues have found that this long-term use and large dosage is causing this visuospatial memory. He also says that there has been an increase in this use, which is unfortunate considering the result of visuospatial deficits. With this being said, this is only one steroid. If only one can do this to you, what can the others do?
In conclusion, athletes taking steroids need to pay attention to the side effects, length of time using the steroid, and the dosage amount of taking the steroid. Steroids were developed for the increase of muscle production, not to constantly destroy your health. If the athletes of our society begin taking these steroids at a younger age, they could lose success at an earlier age as well due to these effects. If our society, such as the guy I know, keeps taking these steroids as if it is not harmful, our athletes or anyone competing could become harmful to not only themselves, but others as well. According to the search I found on AAS, if athletes don’t pay attention to the effects, not only could they harm their health, but also they could harm their memory. AAS is only one of the many steroids in this world, and if this one steroid could cause this much damage, can you imagine what some of the others could do?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130319091256.htm
McLean Hospital. “Long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid use may impact visuospatial memory.” ScienceDaily, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Tortora, Gerard J and Derrickson, Bryan. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology 13th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011. 13 Sep. 2013.