A Nebraska doctor, who earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy in illegally prescribing steroids, received 5 years probation. Based on court documents, the doctor participated in the prescription of at least 40,000 doses of steroids to various clients around the country.

Dr. Raymond Heller of Omaha admitted in court that he participated in an illegal steroid operation of another respondent, Edward Franklin Ward, 52, of Harvest, Alabama. Ward allegedly forwarded to him clients with whom he did not personally examined. Dr Heller signed prescriptions mostly for testosterone. This drug was commonly prescribed to clients of Ward in his anti-aging clinic. In return, Heller was paid $50 for each signed prescription.

Dr Heller explained in court that he signed prescriptions for people whose medical profiles indicate that they are suffering from hormone deficiency. However, prescribing steroids to patients without actual examination is considered illegal in the country. Court records also showed that the doctor did not even have any contact with the said clients or patients.

Probation plus Fines

The probation terms of Dr Heller includes 8 months of house arrest and 100 hours of community service. He will also take part in the forfeiture of $685,741 together with Ward. This is the estimated proceeds from the illegal transactions of the two respondents in the case. If the probation term is revoked, the doctor can face a jail term of up to 10 years.

On the other hand, Edward Ward is expected to be sentenced on April 10. Both respondents pleaded guilty last year. The Nebraska review board will also conduct a hearing on Dr Heller’s case to determine if his license will be revoked or not.

Dr Galea Facing Another set of Charges in Canada

Meanwhile, the famous Canadian sports doctor, Anthony Galea, will be facing another set of charges in his home country. Dr Galea also entered into a plea agreement in a US District Court last year regarding his unauthorized practice of medicine in the US. He was also charged for introducing unapproved drug Actovegin in the country. The doctor became famous for his blood spinning treatment but was also accused of using human growth hormone in his treatments.

However, the doctor did not received jail term for the various charges because of his cooperation with the authorities. But still he was required to get permission from the government if he intends to enter the US. He was also barred from practicing his profession.

Several professional athletes received treatment from the doctor which authorities said received not just plasma therapy but also human growth hormones. Growth hormone is a banned substance in professional sports because it can be used to gain competitive advantage. Some of the famous athletes treated by Galea were Alex Rodriguez and Tiger Woods.

The charges that Dr Galea will be facing in Canada include conspiracy to import an unapproved drug and conspiracy to export a drug under the Criminal Code, selling an unapproved drug under the Food and Drugs Act, and smuggling goods into Canada under the Customs Act.

His next hearing will be on March 1.

Experimental findings by a research group at West Virginia University uncover assumptions linking steroids to the abnormalities seen in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

The study was published by Lippincontt Williams and Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. It was issued on the January circulation of Neurosurgery, the official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The researchers claim that their study did not seen any indications that will strengthen the theory of steroid‘s contribution to long-term damaging effects of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).

The Course of the Research

The research was performed through the use of a standard technique to induce traumatic brain injury in the research animals injected with steroid before and after the injury. Dr. James Mills and his colleagues analyzed the brainstem specimens then performed a comparison on the levels of protein called beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP). This serves as an indicator of brain cell damage caused by MTBI.

The comparison made by the researchers on the impact of brain trauma showed no difference between rats that was injected with steroids and those who did not. The elevations in APP level of both groups are similar. Further comparison was conducted in a group of rats that were not subjected to brain injury. Researchers however, got the same result. APP levels of rats with steroids indicate no variation to those who did not receive steroid treatment.

Dr. James Mills and his colleagues concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that anabolic steroids intensify the degree of damage to the degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma in athletes.

Exposure to repetitive MTBI causes CTE

The experiment performed in the rats can be typically likened to the brain damages that an athlete may suffer repeatedly during the highlight of his career. Medical findings states that professional athletes who constantly suffer from mild traumatic brain injury may develop a progressive neurodegenerative disease called chronic trauma encephalopathy (CTE). After retirement professional athlete may suffer wide range of mental, emotional and physical problems because of CTE.

Suspicions that steroid can also play a role in acquiring that kind of ailment had been a popular theory in the field of sports. It is known that the pattern of abnormalities in the brains of patients with CTE is caused by repetitive brain trauma but sportsmen are also inclined to the possibility that steroid use may affect the development of CTE.

The result of Dr. Mills and his colleagues study finally shed some facts to the speculations involving anabolic steroid use to the development of CTE. Although the group of researchers accepts that there are still limitations in regard with their animal experiments, they affirm that exposure to repetitive MTBI is still the main cause of CTE. “We see no adverse effect or causative role of anabolic steroid administration on the brain following MTBI with the use of APP counts as a marker for anatomic injury.” Clinical studies shows that CTE risk is most likely related to exposure to repetitive MTBI with a tendency toward a genetic predisposition, said the researchers.

Brain Damage: Something that Athlete Should Watch Out For

Athletes should know that even minor injuries can result to a serious and long lasting concern. With or without steroid use, brain injury remains to be the cause of variety of health problems. An accident or a hard blow in the head can develop gradually and build up brain damage and concussions that were not immediately apparent. Using anabolic steroid is one thing but the risk of brain injury in athletes should be something that to watch out for as this can have a lasting influence on a person’s life.

The effort to curb abuse of prescription medication is now in effect in New Jersey. People who are using illegally obtained prescriptions for painkillers, steroids, and HGH can be easily detected with the new drug monitoring program. The program would surely boost the ability of the state in recognizing prescription drug abusers systematically in a shorter span of time.

The goal of New Jersey to restrain those people who suffer from prescription drug addiction started five years ago after passing a law that would regulate the tracking of prescription drug abuse. It was also considered as helpful tool in possible apprehension of drug dealers.

The Growing Concern for Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescription drugs are more prone to be abused by Americans than the illicit street drugs like cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin. Cases of untimely deaths that are either due to the patient taking too large a dose or mixing different types of medication without medical supervision is becoming a wide concern. Prescription drugs have been found to be more dangerous than street drugs, mainly because users get a false sense of safety since doctors routinely prescribe them for patients.

The implementation of the program was hastened by the alleged involvement of several NJ law enforcement officers in the use of performance enhancing drugs like steroids. Adopting a database monitoring program would likely put halt in the widespread abuse of steroids and human growth hormone by police and firefighters in the state. It would also address the growing trend of young adults being involved in prescription drug abuse.

Database Aims to Spot Drug Abusers

The State Attorney General Jeff Chiesa told the media that one of the recent accomplishment of the program is tracking down a person who allegedly obtained a four-month supply of oxycodone and methadone to three New Jersey pharmacies on 14 separate occasions by presenting illegally acquired prescriptions.

The database aims to help authorities in New Jersey track any prescription of unusually large amount of narcotic, steroids, pain killers and other prescription drugs. Thomas Calcagni, the director of the state Division of Consumer Affairs also announced that the database would facilitate the tracking of all prescription filled in the state of New Jersey and into the state of New Jersey by pharmacies that ship into the state.

Since September 1 up to date, there had been more than 4 million prescriptions entered into the database. Information came from almost 2, 000 pharmacies throughout the state. Doctors and pharmacist would be able to access detailed patient information and mail-order operations on prescriptions for sedatives, painkillers, stimulants and steroids. Despite the fact that New Jersey came late in implementing this program Calagni claimed that better provisions were included after learning from those of other states.

Inclusion of Human Growth Hormone

Part of the improvement was the inclusion of tracking of human growth hormone prescription. HGH is used for certain medical conditions but its use by bodybuilders and professional athletes is now becoming a trend. Law enforcement agencies were also given authority to access the information after obtaining a court order declaring probable cause. This is considered a higher standard as compared with the programs of other states which only allows searches on the database if it is related to an active investigation.

Calagni further stressed that they will be more vigilant in monitoring drug abuse in the state. Any sign of abuse will be monitored by Calagni’s division warning doctors when patients exceed certain threshold. They will not wait for doctors and pharmacist to contact law enforcement agencies on any suspicious activity of a certain patient.

The Optimum Technology of Columbus, Ohio, was chosen to supervise the database that cost $244,000 to set up and about $177,000 a year to maintain. A quite costly program but nonetheless authorities claims that they will save much more by identifying drug abusers and saving lives altered by prescription drug abuse.

A hard-earned physique, stamina and over-all competitive advantage makes winning the most triumphant achievement of all. But in today’s intense sports competition, athletes resort into performance enhancing drug putting them at risk to various ailments.

This had been evidenced by a study conducted by Swiss researchers warning athletes that the excessive use of performance enhancing drug particularly EPO may trigger serious vascular problems in brain.

Increased Blood Pressure Revealed on EPO Study

The effect of too much EPO in the body was studied by the Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Researchers conducted the study on two groups of healthy males. The first group is administered with high doses of EPO for three days and the other received much lower doses for 13 weeks.

The response of blood vessels in the brain to EPO is analyzed under normal oxygen levels and hypoxic levels. It is monitored by researchers while at rest and during exercise. Their study revealed that the high doses of EPO given on 3 days to the group of healthy males did not increase the group’s hematocrit levels. While the other group that experienced 13 weeks of low level of EPO raised their hematocrit level.

Both group notably showed an increase in their blood pressure. This had been determined to be the cause of increase of blood vessel constriction, a reaction brought about by the short term-high and long term-low levels of EPO administered.

Side Effects of EPO Blood Doping

Anemia, renal failure and cancer chemotherapy makes use of EPO or erythropoietin as a form of treatment. The role of EPO is to stimulate the bone marrow in order to manufacture more erythrocytes or red blood cells.

Unnecessary and prolonged administration of EPO can result in polycythemia due to increased hematocrit levels. Polycythemia is a condition that thickens the blood resulting in a decreased blood flow. These circumstances put an athlete at risk of forming blood clots that could lead to stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in the legs.

Why Do Athletes Still Adhere to EPO and Other Forms of Steroids?

Athletes who participate in endurance sports such as biking, running and cycling had been notably involved in EPO blood doping and steroids. It is an illegal practice that improves aerobic capacity and endurance allowing them to achieve physical advantage over their competitors.

The stamina build up is one of the benefits of EPO making it very popular among athletes who are aiming to boost their performance in the race. The enhanced athletic performance is due to the increased number of red blood cells in their bloodstream after injecting EPO into the body.

EPO blood doping causes the hematocrit levels to rise above the normal levels allowing the muscles to receive more oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body. The increased oxygen-carrying ability of the blood enables the muscles to perform better and generate more power for longer periods of time. An effect that is much needed by athletes who need to significantly improve their resistance and staying power during a race.

Other forms of steroids are also used aside from EPO in enhancing the performance of the athletes. These serves as their mechanism to out play their competitors and emerge victorious in their chosen field. Although there are many other ways to build up stamina, the use of performance enhancing drugs like steroids and EPO is still widespread.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this December was welcomed with much hype. According to the study author, Dr. Waldemar Carlo, giving steroids to pregnant women at risk of preterm birth as early as 23 weeks can opt for a prenatal steroid to boost an infant’s chance of survival. The new study further asserts that it can also reduce the baby’s risk of serious developmental issues, including brain injury.

The current medical guidelines suggest that prenatal steroids should only be administered to women who are at risk for delivering between the 24th and 34th week of their pregnancy. With its prime purpose of helping the infants’ lungs develop and increase survival rate while decreasing the risk of brain injury, prenatal steroid has been a great help for mother with high risk of delivering before the normal 38-42 weeks of pregnancy. It is not however been administered to women who show signs of labor before week 24.

Promising Results

Researchers presented a new study conducted on about 10, 500 infants who were born at 22 to 25 weeks between January 1993 and January 2008 in 23 medical centers in the United States. The preterm babies weighed roughly 2 pounds at birth. Comparison among infants who received prenatal steroid to those who did not was carefully observed, analyzed and evaluated by the stream of qualified researchers headed by Dr. Carlo. These researchers also carried out neurologic exams on more than 4, 900 surviving infants at 18 to 22 months after their original due dates.

Research data of Dr. Carlo and his colleagues includes that there is indeed a more pronounced improvements in babies aged 24 weeks with 80.3 percent who lived compared to 68 percent who died or had brain damage after getting steroids.

Among babies administered with prenatal steroids at 23 weeks, about 83 percent are fatal casualties or some developed brain problems by aged 18-22 months. However, a greater portion for about 99 percent premature babies delivered before 24 weeks that were not given steroids either died or showed brain damage.

Death Incidence Reduced by 33 Percent with Prenatal Steroids

Dr. Waldemar Carlo, head author and director of the division of neonatology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham claims that this data shows that there is still a huge potential to increase the use of prenatal steroids. To back it up, their study shows that when steroids was dispensed to mothers during 22nd and 23rd week of pregnancy the risk of infants’ death is decreased by more than 33 percent. The percentage of risk for neuro-developmental delays which may include hearing impairment, blindness, cerebral palsy and severe delays in motor and cognitive issues dropped for more than 20 percent.

It is further claimed that the prenatal steroid treatment worked across many subgroups of pregnant women. Dr Carlo also noted that even a single dose to pregnant women with high risk of preterm delivery can result to some important effects.

The new study did not found any occurrence of potential infection in pregnant mothers whose immune system would go down after being given steroids. It was also concluded that the infection rate for mothers did not increase with the use of antenatal corticosteroids.

The chief of maternal-fetal medicine at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, New York, Dr. Burton Rochelson, regard the findings of the study as important facts suggesting a petty convincing evidence for the use of prenatal steroids for infants between 22 to 23 weeks old.

In order to reduce mortality and morbidity rates among preemie babies Dr. Carlo and colleagues impel for a more extensive research and doctors are further advised to consider giving preterm mothers steroids starting at 23 weeks gestation period followed by intensive care to insure more success rate.

A manufacturer of deer antler spray recently told CBS Sports that products containing IGF-1 should not be considered harmful like the androgenic anabolic steroids. They also reacted on the warning issued by the Major League Baseball (MLB) that deer antler spray can cause a positive test for steroids. The warning can send a wrong message to the users that deer antler extracts are unsafe to professional athletes and the consuming public in general.

The MLB told its players to avoid using deer antler spray because it could lead to a positive test for steroids. Though the MLB pinpointed a specific brand of deer antler spray, it can still affect other manufacturers who adhere to safety and manufacturing standards.

According to Ricardo Lentini, CEO of Nutronics Labs, it would be unfair to ban deer antler spray in general because it does not pose health risks to the users. “It would be a travesty to have this product and its wondrous and natural benefits to be banned or restricted in any way.” The company has been producing deer antler spray for 15 years and they claimed that the product is clean of any banned substances.

Manufacturer Claim their Deer Antler Spray Clean of Steroids

Nutronics Labs already sent a letter to the MLB explaining that their product does not contain any methyltestosterone. Lentini also told CBS Sports that their product has been verified by a leading drug-testing lab and certified to be free of methyltestosterone and steroids.

Lab tests of other deer antler sprays revealed that some of them contain other ingredients to boost the positive effects of the supplement. Since deer antler enhances the production of HGh in the body, other supplement companies added steroids to bolster its muscle enhancing effects.

IGF-1 Not to be Considered as Steroids

Deer antler sprays contain IGF-1 which is similar to the naturally occurring growth hormone in the body. One of the noted benefits of IGF-1 to the user is it allows muscle to use fat for energy. It also moderates the immune system, reduces fat and promotes muscle-building. Lentini said that IGF-1 provides all the benefits of having human growth hormone without actually taking the synthetic one.

He further explained that the deer antler has been in use in the ancient Chinese medicine. It only became popular when more evidences of its effectiveness were known to the public.

Lentini added that IGF-1 allows the body to achieve its full potential without the dangerous side effects of anabolic steroids. “The compound is composed of factors that allow for natural growth of your tissues and does not try to go beyond these natural parameters. Anabolic steroids, on the other hand, often try to do this and frequently results in disastrous consequences including ease of injury and possible damage to the heart and other organs,” he said.

Deer Antler Extracts Safe to Use

Deer antler sprays comes from the deer antler velvet where IGF-1 is found. After the manufacturing process, the deer antler velvet is turned into liquid form and is used by spraying it under the tongue. Others use a dropper.

According to Lentini, the deer antler spray will not allow for gains beyond what a body is naturally capable of. This is the reason why the supplement is safe to use. Steroids are synthetic compounds designed to boost the strength and performance of individual above and beyond their body’s capabilities.

Using deer antler sprays will not trigger a false positive according to Lentini. “There are no significant similarities in the chemical composition of these compounds.”