title: Illicit use of androgens and other hormones:  recent advances.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To summarize recent advances in studies of illicit use of androgens and other hormones.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Androgens and other appearance-enhancing and performance-enhancing substances are widely abused worldwide. Three notable clusters of findings have emerged in this field in recent years. First, studies almost unanimously find that androgen users engage in polypharmacy, often ingesting other hormones (e.g., human growth hormone, thyroid hormones, and insulin), ergo/thermogenic drugs (e.g., caffeine, ephedrine, and clenbuterol), and classical drugs of abuse (e.g., cannabis, opiates, and cocaine). Second, reports of long-term psychiatric and medical adverse effects of androgens continue to accumulate. In cardiovascular research particularly, controlled studies have begun to supersede anecdotal evidence, strengthening the case that androgens (possibly acting synergistically with other abused drugs) may cause significant morbidity and even mortality. Third, it is increasingly recognized that androgen use may lead to a dependence syndrome with both psychological and physiological origins. Androgen dependence likely affects some millions of individuals worldwide, and arguably represents the least studied major class of illicit drug dependence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given mounting evidence of the adverse effects of androgens and associated polypharmacy, this topic will likely represent an expanding area of research and an issue of growing public health concern.
authors.affiliation: Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478, USA.
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kanayama
authors.forename: Harrison G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Pope
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000728:Androgens / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D020446:Fitness Centers; D006801:Humans; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011634:Public Health; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances