To learn more about anabolic steroids and other drugs of abuse, contact the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at 800-729-6686. Information specialists are available to help you locate information and resources.
Fact sheets, including InfoFacts, on the health effects of anabolic steroids, other drugs of abuse, and other drug topics are available on the NIDA Web site (
www.drugabuse.gov), and can be ordered free of charge in English and Spanish from NCADI at
ncadi.samhsa.gov.
Glossary
Addiction: A chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive drug seeking and abuse and by long-lasting chemical changes in the brain.
Anabolic effects: Drug-induced growth or thickening of the body's nonreproductive tract tissues—including skeletal muscle, bones, the larynx, and vocal cords—and a decrease in body fat.
Analgesics: A group of medications that reduce pain.
Androgenic effects: A drug’s effects upon the growth of the male reproductive tract and the development of male secondary sexual characteristics.
Antidepressants: A group of medications used in treating depressive disorders.
Cardiovascular system: The heart and blood vessels.
Hormone: A chemical substance formed in glands in the body and carried by the blood to organs and tissues, where it influences function, structure, and behavior.
Musculoskeletal system: The muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments.
Placebo: An inactive substance (pill, liquid, etc.), which is administered to a comparison group, as if it were therapy, but which has no therapeutic value other than to serve as a negative control.
Sex hormones: Hormones that are found in higher quantities in one sex than in the other. Male sex hormones are the androgens, which include testosterone; and the female sex hormones are the estrogens and progesterone.
Withdrawal: Symptoms that occur after chronic use of an addictive drug is reduced or stopped.
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