Steroids Blog

Tony La Russa agreed to come back on a one-year contract with the Cardinals as manager. All of his coaches will also return except for Hal McRae, whom McGwire will substitute.

Tony La Russa stunned everyone last Monday by declaring that Mark McGwire, one of the controversial baseball players of all time will join St. Louis Cardinals as his hitting coach.

McGwire retired from the game on 2001. He hit a record of 70 home runs in 1998, 583 homers and a .263 career average in 2001.

In 1998, a reporter discerned a jar of androstenedione in his locker. During that time, the Major League Baseball did not yet prohibit the steroid precursor. McGwire even acknowledged to its use.

During the US Congressional hearing on the steroids issue, McGwire declined to answer any queries under oath.

McGwire failed to join the reputable Hall of Fame in 2007 coming out on less than 25 percent out of the 545 ballots cast. His baseball heroics were incessantly cast into distrust due to his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

McGwire did not go to the news conference last Monday at the Busch Stadium. La Russa guarantees that McGwire would not be hiding and evading any questions about steroids in the future.

From The Commercial Appeal:

Mark McGwire is back in baseball, reunited with Tony La Russa as the St. Louis Cardinals’ hitting coach.

Repeated courses of steroids administered to nursing women during preterm labor can prove to be an effective option for enhancing survival rate of babies. It was also remarked that steroids do not cause brain damage to baby in wombs as thought previously.

Sanjiv Amin, M.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical center and author of the study, said that babies need to be on ventilation when steroid treatment is avoided or delayed by nursing mothers.

From Bio-Medicine.org:

“The consensus in recent years has been to no longer give women in preterm labor more than one course of steroids because of possible adverse effects, but it means more babies are born needing ventilation,” said Sanjiv Amin, M.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical center and author of the study. “These findings may give us back a tool to help give these fragile babies a better chance of survival.”

Before concerns arose in 2000 about safety of multiple courses of steroids, many mothers in on-and-off preterm labor received several rounds before delivering. Now, when mothers go into preterm labor, obstetricians will often administer only a single course of steroids to help strengthen the baby’s lungs upon birth. But if the birth is successfully held off for more than seven days, the mother does not receive another course of medication and the baby’s lungs may not be protected.

This is regrettable, because one of the biggest challenges for babies born preterm is breathing on their own. Many develop respiratory distress syndrome because their lungs have not developed a protective film over their air sacks, called surfactant, which aids in the transfer of oxygen and decreases the work of breathing. Because of that, they may receive medications and supplemental oxygen, which can cause problems of their own.

Amin also suggested that ABR (auditory brainstem evoked response) can be termed as a window into the entire brain and also said that there were no suggesting results for proving that brains of infants receiving mulitple courses of betamethasone steroids get affected in any way.

The United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) formed a Crime stoppers style hotline, as portion of a £7 million dollar crusade to keep drug cheats in London Olympics.

UKAD is a newly formed national agency, which will work hand in hand with security services such as the UK Border Agency and the Serious Organized Crime Agency. It will be beginning its operations in December 2009.

Previous chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, David Kenworthy, heads the bureau. The public trusts that intelligence about drug trafficking routes furnishing illegitimate substances to athletes will also be dealt by the agency apart from the center, which is illegal Class A drugs.

Coaches, athletes, and officials through the private phone line, can give unidentified tip-offs involving the abuse and provision of unlawful substances.

Even the public is welcomed to volunteer any information about illicit importation of anabolic steroids in Britain. Any information that could assist customs and police to capture steroids rings are encouraged.

Aside from the hotline, ministers are also suggesting to add an article in the contract that athletes will concur to a mandated room search in order to earn entry in the 2012 Olympics. They have already requested the International Olympic Committee of the addition in the contract.

From Times Online:

Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, said: “I don’t think it would be beyond the pale. Inspection would act as a deterrent. The integrity of sport must not be put at risk and fans need to be confident that the athletes they are watching are clean.”

Last October 5, 2009 at Sheffield Crown Court, Richard Flynn, a heavy good technician from Rawmarsh, Rotherham and Christopher Taylor, a househusband and a gym proprietor from Rawmarsh, Rotherham were sentenced for conspiracy to sell and circulate controlled substances, including human growth hormone. The accusations followed a joint procedure taken by the MHRA and South Yorkshire Police.

Flynn faces a twelve-month imprisonment, 18 months suspension from his job, and an additional 120-hour penalty community service.

In The Meantime, Taylor was sentenced to nine-month imprisonment, suspended for twelve months, and an 80-hour community service as penalty.

MHRA Head of Operations, Danny Lee-Frost considered that the pair endangered the lives of those around them in exchange for their own profit.

During the operation, police authorities seized substantial amounts of Class C drugs such as testosterone, methandienone, and oxymetholone. A £9,000 worth of cash was obtained inside a cupboard under the stairs in Flynn’s home. Drugs seized during the investigation are calculated at £7,000 in street value.

Tests performed on the products impounded unveiled that both oxymetholone and Hygetropin bore no hint of the said active components.

Moreover, the pair was also involved in the importation of the human growth hormone, Hygetropin, which has an estimated street value of £96,000.

From the Medical News Today:

MHRA Head of Operations, Danny Lee-Frost, said the case highlighted the robust action taken by the MHRA against those who illegally sell and supply medicines.

“As the UK regulator of medicines, we strive to ensure that only the competent and honest are licensed to deal in medicines, and take swift action against anyone who acts otherwise.

Idaho psychologists and college fitness professors say need for bodybuilding supplements goes beyond elite athletes. People’s discontent with their bodies - even among those in good condition - frequently heads them to steroids and other products as one more way to tone up.

W. Rand Walker, a consulting psychologist at the University of Idaho in Moscow, frequently meets clients who utilize questionable supplements and do not mean to stop. Many come to him only at the urging of friends or spouses anxious about their steroid use.

In the past several months, the Food Drug Administration (FDA) has busted a number of companies, including Meridian-based Bodybuilding.com, which the FDA suspects was selling and distributing illegal steroids.

The company has announced it is collaborating with authorities but has otherwise refused to comment. The FDA said it would not comment on present investigations.

The demand for bodybuilding supplements, mixed with manufacturers who chemically tweak steroids into something not readily obvious to government officials checking on their use, has resulted the Food and Drug Administration to issue public warnings to avoid taking these substances or risk a form of ills from liver damage to kidney problems.

According to Mc Clatchy:

BOISE, Idaho — From fitness fanatics to teenage athletes, the attraction to run faster, jump higher and look bigger and stronger is fueling an illicit steroid market with the substances often showing up unannounced in so-called dietary supplements.

As part of Little League Baseball’s nationwide safety program called “A Safety Awareness Program” (ASAP), they required leagues all over the country to develop and implement a safety plan for their league. A contest will be held, proclaiming one league to have the best safety awareness program. The award will also bring $500 worth of credits for league insurance costs.

This year, the Big Pocono Little League won the award. They received their award in an on-field ceremony held at the annual Little League World Series in Williamsport.

The team received a $100,000 worth of field lights. According to Mark Nayman, president of the Big Pocono League, the lights would enable them to host more tournaments with night games. They are currently waiting for workers from an Iowa-based lighting company to do a survey of their field. That is to determine the best possible way and the strategic place to install the field lights.

Big Pocono’s safety awareness plan encompasses a wide range of safety measures such as CPR training, defibrillator at each field and even an educational campaign regarding the dangers of steroids use.

The league’s plan focuses on preventing injuries rather than reacting to injuries.

From Pocono Record:

Dr. Tom Gioglio, the athletic director at ESU, came out and did a great presentation with his staff during our ‘Safety Day’ about how dangerous steroids are for the kids,” Nayman said. “You should have seen the way the kids took to this program. They were really interested.”