Sound Medicine -- August 24, 2002

Diane Willis and Dr. Kathy Miller talk to physicians and experts about:

Steroid use
Botox for stroke patients

Statin therapy

Steroid use

Despite the warnings about the dangers of steroid-use, these bulk-building drugs continue to be popular. And the athletes who use them are getting younger and younger. Are we inadvertently encouraging their use with our enthusiasm for sports and for winning? We discuss steroid use with Greg Rowdon, MD, sports medicine specialist and primary-care sports-medicine physician at Methodist Sports Medicine Center in Indianapolis.

Dr. Rowdon discusses the difficulty of discovering an accurate number of teens using steroids. Anonymous surveys indicate as many as 7% of high schoolers use them. Spotting warning signs is also problematic, since many of them -- such as acne and moody behavior -- are common in teens. He also stresses the potential health consequences: damage to the liver, to the cardiovascular system and to the endocrine system -- includeing changes in sexual characteristics.

Resources

Get a quick overview of anabolic steroids from the electronic Merck Manual.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) offers many fact sheets on steroids, many addressing the problem of teen steroid use. The site includes a good research report on steroid abuse.

Botox for stroke patients

Botox is known as a product for anti-aging treatments, but the the drug is also proving useful for a condition more serious than wrinkles. A spastic hand is one of the many disabling affects of a stroke, but a recently published study shows that Botox injections can restore movement to the hand.

Allison Brashear, MD, lead author of the study is associate professor of neurology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Botox loosens muscles, explains Dr. Brashear. Although hand-injections for stroke patients must be repeated, and the beneficial effects are not probably not permanent, Dr. Brashear reports finding no immunity or resistance in her patients in a follow-up study. She tells several patients' stories and explains the importance of having patients set specific goals for their recovery.

Resources

Read a news release on the study from the IU School of Medicine.

Read the abstract of the article at the New England Journal of Medicine Web site, August 8, 2002 issue.

Statin therapy

Physicians are increasingly prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. Many studies have shown that statin drugs reduce the bad cholesterol called LDL, and newer research hints they may help prevent strokes. To find out more about these popular drugs, we meet with Mark Deeg, MD/PhD. Dr. Deeg is associate professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology at the IU School of Medicine.

Dr. Deeg provides statistics on the effectiveness of statin drugs. He also addresses natural ways to reduce bad cholesterol -- such as adopting a low-fat diet and increasing exercise. He believes people at higher risk of heart attacks & stroke should do both. Dr. Deeg reviews side effects such as liver abnormalities and muscle problems.

How statins reduce stroke is unclear, Deeg reports. He also says recent studies suggesting statins can treat Alzheimer disease and osteoporosis are not strong enough to warrant prescribing for these conditions.

Resources

Dr. Mark Deeg recommends the American Heart Association's Web page, which includes a good fact sheet on cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Upcoming program
We'll be discussing emphysema with Dr. Mike Busk of the IU School of Medicine.

Send us your questions
email: soundmed@iu.edu
phone: (317) 274-IU4U

Read our Privacy Policy

A. They've all been shown to reduce the risk of several types of cancer.
B. They shouldn't be eaten by pregnant women.
C. They all pose a special risk of food poisoning if not cooked properly.

Find out!

It's a road safety problem that can affect anyone, but younger people are at greater risk. In fact, smart, energetic, active teens may be among the most affected by this syndrome, which can lead to injury and death. What problem are we driving at?

Find out!

Weekly Notebook—
Health hazards of steroid abuse

Anabolic steroid abuse presents multiple health problems -- some general, and others specific to gender and age. Some of the side effects are irreversible.

General side effects:
  • Liver tumors and jaundice
  • High blood pressure
  • Increase in LDL (bad cholesterol)
  • Decrease in HDL (good cholesterol)

For adolescents:
 • growth halted prematurely by early skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty

For men:
  • shrinking of the testicles
  • reduced sperm count
  • baldness
  • development of breasts

For women:
  • growth of facial hair
  • male-pattern baldness
  • changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle
  • enlargement of the clitoris
  • deepened voice
 
Source: NIDA InfoFax, "Steroids"