POTSDAM -- A Clarkson University assistant professor and two students recently published an opinion paper in Medical Research Archives against the use of anabolic steroids.

The team undertook the project to “sort speculation from fact about the side effects,” Clarkson said.

“It's a hot topic, but we can't do clinically based steroid research. It's illegal and unethical,” said Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant Studies Ali Boolani. “We started this project last summer to explore what's known on side effects, and my students spent hundreds of hours each sifting through current information. They did a great job.”

The allure of a bigger, stronger, faster body is as enticing as the huge paychecks professional athletes can command. However, the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (synthetic testosterone) also creates some powerful and contradictory conditions, according to Boolani and students Britni R. Keitz and Holly S. Bronson.

Side effects can include acne, increased body hair, aggressive behavior, fluid retention, elevated blood pressure, sleeplessness, increased irritability, feelings of low libido, increased sex drive, increased appetite, sweating, increased feeling of well-being, depressive mood states, loss of head hair and gynaecomastia (enlarged breast tissue in men).

Keitz, a student in the doctor of physical therapy program, worked with Bronson, a senior pre-physical therapy honors student majoring in psychology, to update all the sources in an initial draft of the opinion paper. They reviewed literature, evaluated sources, and checked with publishing requirements for professional journals, Clarkson said.

“I found a lot more new research, so I added it and tried to get two sides of the issue but there's a lot of inconsistent data. Much of the information on steroid use is from questionnaires,” Keitz said. “I found it amazing, though, what psychological changes the studies report -- depression and homicidal feelings.”

“It's sad to risk your health to get ahead. This research can help open people's eyes to the negative effects of steroids so they can make an informed decision before they take anything,” Bronson said.

The paper was published in Issue 1, 2015, of Medical Research Archives.

See an abstract of the paper at http://bit.ly/1F7On1o