Patients suffering from the HIV virus and medically administered with anabolic steroids for preventing AIDS wasting may experience modest weight and muscle mass gains. The magnitude of these gains can be relevant in clinical terms, as per lead author Karen Johns, a Medical Assessment Officer from the Agency Health Canada.

This review was published in an issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration.

From News-Medical.Net:

Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances similar to the male sex hormone testosterone that promote growth of skeletal muscle and the development of male sexual characteristics.

Although most recently in the news for their misuse by professional athletes, anabolic steroids have legitimate medical application for men with low testosterone and people with certain types of anemia. Two anabolic steroids available in the United States, nandrolone decanoate and oxandrolone, have been used to help increase weight and muscle mass in small studies of people with wasting.

Conversely, anabolic steroid use has been associated with increased rates of HIV in those who share needles or use nonsterile needles when they inject steroids.

In the review studies, anabolic steroids were administered to patients either orally or by injection. The main side effects were mild and included abnormal liver function tests; acne; mild increase in body hair; breast tenderness; increased libido, aggressiveness and irritability; and mood swings - all common side effect of anabolic steroid use.

“The risks and side effects of taking anabolic steroids long-term are certainly of concern,” Johns said. “We were unable to assess these risks in our review due to the short duration of treatment in the studies.”

The study noted that retired National Football League (NFL) players had a considerably lower prevalence of complications such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, and sedentary lifestyle when compared to other men.