Researchers from the German Sport University Cologne in Germany have suggested that non-steroidal and tissue-selective anabolic agents such as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) are in great demand these days due to their performance enhancing qualities.

The study suggests that the misuse of therapeutics by athletes, without approval from clinicians, cannot be dismissed, according to Mario Thevis, Ph.D.

From Sciencedaily.com:

In 2008, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited the use of SARMs in sports due to their potential for misuse. WADA closely cooperates with pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies, as well as medicine agencies and drug evaluation bodies on the issue of therapeutics being misused in sports. WADA’s preventive approach was validated with the recent finding of a commercially available, non-approved arylpropionamide-derived SARM termed Andarine. This product, declared as green tea extracts and face moisturizer to pass customs, was available on the Internet at a discount price of $100 USD.

It is worth noting here that SARMs represent a class of therapeutics that offers benefits of traditional anabolic/androgenic steroids such as testosterone with fewer unwanted side effects. They are used to treat health complications such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and cancer cachexia and gaining popularity in the sports doping community.