Author: Dr. Shahid Mughal

What Are Steroids? Don’t confuse anabolic steroids with corticosteroids, warns physiatrist Kenneth Mautner, MD, of Emory University. Anabolic steroids are used to build up muscle. Corticosteroids are used to dampen overactive immune responses and reduce swelling. The anabolic steroids abused by athletes are synthetic versions of testosterone, a male hormone. Both men and women naturally produce testosterone. But like all hormones — which regulate the body’s most basic functions — throwing one’s testosterone out of…