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CNN Live Today

Steroids Cause Serious Side Effects

Aired May 29, 2002 - 12:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: While steroids improve muscle mass, they also can have serious side effects. CNN medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joins us from New York to talk about the dangers of performance enhancing drugs.

Sanjay, you know, this seems like such a shock to me, because you and I remember football player Lyle Alzado and how he died of a brain tumor as a result of his steroids use. It's hard to believe that this is still going on.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I guess, in some ways, I guess, everyone sort of knows that ballplayers probably use steroids. But what they don't know, probably, is some of the actual ramifications of that use.

For instance, just as you mentioned, Carol, you certainly get the increased muscle mass, increased muscle endurance, things like that. You also get things like acne, headaches, stomach aches, water retention.

You actually see a picture of what it looks like to actually have this sort of acne. Your skin really flares up with the use of steroids. And that is something that you will see in the short term. In the midterm sort of effects, this is when the baseball players have been using steroids for a while. You will start to see some muscle tears, tendon ruptures. You will always see some other effects, balding, trembling.

Long-term effects I think are the most concerning: kidney and liver problems, high blood pressure, infertility, in men, gynecomastia, which I'll explain in a second; in women, facial hair, deepening in voice. Adolescents even have stunted growth. Gynecomastia is actually development of breasts in men. And this is something that you see because the steroids actually suppress the production of testosterone. So, as you can tell, Carol, just from hearing all that, there's a lot of different issues that come in with the chronic use of steroids.

One thing I should point out is that a lot of people don't know the long-term effects of steroids on healthy people, which is what these baseball players are, for the most part. Most of the studies come from steroids that are prescribed for people who are ill and truly need them -- so a little bit of unchartered territory, Carol.

LIN: Yes. Do you know of any other drugs that are used by professional athletes also?

GUPTA: One of the things that is starting to really come to light is growth hormone. And I know you've talked about that before. And it is becoming increasingly popular.

It's sort of pitched, touted as the fountain of youth. But it is a potentially dangerous substance as well in people who don't actually need it. One of the most dramatic things, really, is a condition know as acromegaly. The name is not that important, but you actually see the features here of someone who has taken excess growth hormone, very characteristic features, Carol.

You will see the face, sort of a lantern jaw. You notice the brows and the widening of the area on top of the nose. This is sort of some of the stuff you see on the outside. It also has some effects on some of the internal organs, the kidneys and the liver. It's a drug that should not be taken, although, for the same reasons that we have been talking about steroids, people are taking growth hormone as well.

LIN: Yes. So, what are the signs specifically about steroids abuse, then?

GUPTA: Well, one of the things -- and a lot of kids are starting to take this, too; 2.7 percent, the article quoted, of high school students taking steroids.

Look for things like a sudden increase in hunger. That might be an early sign, an increase in energy, sort of an unexpected increase in energy. You sort of see sort of the expected things: the increase in muscle mass, the increase in endurance. But you also behavioral problems: aggression. People don't sleep as well. They have nightmares.

All these sort of things translate into maybe some of the early warning signs of steroid use, although it is admittedly hard to diagnose.

LIN: So, if you find out, God forbid, that your kids are taking steroids to enhance their own performance in, say, high school sports, what sort of timeline do you have? When they actually stop using the steroids, can they regain their health and reverse the effects? And, conversely, how long does it take before it gets to a critical stage where, say, cancers might develop?

GUPTA: Right.

Well, again, it is hard to tell about the cancer part of it. It is hard to tell how much -- everyone is going to be a little bit different. Certainly, a person with a smaller body mass taking more steroids is going to be different than a Lyle Alzado, who you referred to earlier.

One of the things that is important, though, if do find out your kid is taking steroids, go see the doctor, because this is not usually a medication, a drug, a hormone that you want to stop cold turkey. A steroid is a medication that usually you need to taper off. People get into trouble because they just stop it. Your body regulates itself to accommodate the new steroids. If you suddenly stop it, you can get yourself into trouble.

So, that would be my best recommendation. Find out how much steroid is being taken. Find out how often. And go talk to the doctor about tapering it off. If you do that, you can reverse a lot of the negative effects that we have heard so much about.

LIN: Good advice. All right, parents listen up.

Thank you so, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

GUPTA: Thanks, Carol. See you.

LIN: Good to see you.

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