Anabolic steroids provide a competitive edge in power lifting years after doping...( HILTON HEAD SCAnabolic steroids are ...)

HILTON HEAD, SCAnabolic steroids are synthetic hormones derived from the human male hormone testosterone. The use of steroids has been suspected in professional baseball and other sports where building muscle strength, rather than endurance, is paramount. Power lifting is such a sport. A team of researchers has examined the impact of anabolic steroid use on power lifters years after the athletes had ceased to take the drugs. The researchers found that while physical traces of the drug no longer remained, changes in the shoulder and quadriceps still gave lifters an advantage years later.

The research was conducted by Anders Eriksson and Lars-Eric Thornell, Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Section conducted the study for Anatomy, Umea University, Umea, Sweden; Christer Malm, Ume University and Winternet and Patrik Bonnerud, Department of Health Science, Section for Medical Science, Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, Sweden; and Fawzi Kadi, Department of Physical Education and Health, Orebro University, Orebro, Sweden.

Dr. Eriksson will discuss the team's study, "Anabolic Steroids Withdrawal in Strength Trained Athletes: How Does It Affect Skeletal Muscles?," at a conference sponsored by the American Physiological Society (APS; www.The-APS.org). The conference, The Integrative Biology of Exercise V, will be held September 24-27, 2008 in Hilton Head, SC.

Background

Power lifting is a strength sport, requiring the use of a heavy dumbbell to perform three repetitions each of a squat, a bench press and a dead lift. It is in some ways similar to weight lifting, but where weightlifting is a dynamic sport, power lifting is a static one.

Power lifters focus on body strength, which relies heavily on muscle. The body's main muscle fiber types: type I, type IIA and type IIB. Type I is the weakest and slowest, but has the most endurance. Type IIA is the strongest and fastest, bu
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