Anabolic steroids are especially dangerous for teenagers who inject them to "bulk up" with muscles. Death from steroids can occur as early as 20 to 30 years after using them for as short a period as two or three months.
Some of the side effects of anabolic steroids are:
| increased aggressiveness | |
| kidney disease and fluid retention | |
| severe acne | |
| hair on the face and chest in women | |
| atrophy of breasts in women | |
| deepening of the voice in women | |
| balding in both men and women | |
| reduced size of testes, impotence, and reduced sperm count | |
| high cholesterol | |
| high blood pressure leading to heart damage | |
| iver disease and cancer | |
| stunted growth of the long bones | |
| amenorrhea | |
| delusions and hallucinations |
Birth control pills provide an excellent example of how the endocrine system works and how people can modify it to meet their needs.
Oral contraceptives, or birth control pills, are taken by women to prevent ovulation, and thus, conception. Several formulations of birth control pills are on the market, but the one used most frequently has a high proportion of progesterone and less estrogen. These two hormones travel in the bloodstream to the brain where they act as a negative feedback mechanism, inhibiting the release of GnRH from the hypothalamus, and then of FSH and LH from the pituitary. With very low levels of FSH and LH, ovulation cannot occur. The effectiveness of the birth control pill has been found to be nearly 100% as long as the pills are taken regularly.
RU486, the so-called abortion pill, also alters a woman's hormonal balance, but by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg. RU486 (mifepristone) blocks the action of progesterone. Without progesterone, the uterine lining is not maintained, and menstrual flow ensues, sweeping the fertilized egg along with it. RU486 combines with the progesterone receptor sites of the uterine lining, blocking the effect of progesterone.