Former quarterback Maynard accused of using steroids.
Post removed just in case it really was a dumb April Fools joke that ran a day ahead of schedule :-)
Results from phase one study of selective androgen receptor modulator ( LGD-4033 ) released.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced that data from a Phase I study with its selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) LGD-4033 was featured today in a poster presentation at the 14th International Congress of Endocrinology in Kyoto, Japan. This Phase I clinical trial was the first study in humans of LGD-4033, and evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profiles of the molecule in a single escalating dose, double blind, placebo-controlled study in 48 healthy volunteers.
The key findings include:
- LGD-4033 was well tolerated by healthy male volunteers after single oral doses up to 22 mg, the highest dose tested. No serious adverse events (SAE) or clinically significant dose-related adverse events were reported.
- Systemic exposure of LGD-4033 increased proportionally with the dose level after a single oral dose. Sustained systemic exposure was observed with appreciable plasma levels of LGD-4033 detectable a week post-dose. LGD-4033's half-life was consistent with a regimen of once-daily oral dosing.
LGD-4033 is a non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), expected to produce the therapeutic benefits of testosterone with improved safety, tolerability and patient acceptance due to tissue-selective mechanisms of action and oral routes of administration. Ligand has discovered several orally active, non-steroidal SARM compounds based on tissue-specific gene expression and other functional, cell-based technologies. LGD-4033 exhibited desirable in vivo efficacy on skeletal muscle and bone measurements in animal models of male hypogonadism and postmenopausal osteoporosis. The clinical applications for SARMs include the treatment of multiple muscle wasting disorders (e.g., sarcopenia, cachexia and frailty), the treatment of osteoporosis, male hypogonadism and female sexual dysfunction.
The key findings include:
- LGD-4033 was well tolerated by healthy male volunteers after single oral doses up to 22 mg, the highest dose tested. No serious adverse events (SAE) or clinically significant dose-related adverse events were reported.
- Systemic exposure of LGD-4033 increased proportionally with the dose level after a single oral dose. Sustained systemic exposure was observed with appreciable plasma levels of LGD-4033 detectable a week post-dose. LGD-4033's half-life was consistent with a regimen of once-daily oral dosing.
LGD-4033 is a non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), expected to produce the therapeutic benefits of testosterone with improved safety, tolerability and patient acceptance due to tissue-selective mechanisms of action and oral routes of administration. Ligand has discovered several orally active, non-steroidal SARM compounds based on tissue-specific gene expression and other functional, cell-based technologies. LGD-4033 exhibited desirable in vivo efficacy on skeletal muscle and bone measurements in animal models of male hypogonadism and postmenopausal osteoporosis. The clinical applications for SARMs include the treatment of multiple muscle wasting disorders (e.g., sarcopenia, cachexia and frailty), the treatment of osteoporosis, male hypogonadism and female sexual dysfunction.
Chiropractor in the Thomas steroid case out on bond.
A Virginia chiropractor who was arrested last week by federal agents on steroid charges has been released on $40,000 bail and is awaiting an extradition hearing, a newspaper reported.
An April 23 hearing in Fairfax County District Court will determine whether Douglas O. Nagel will be extradited to Florida to face the charges, the Fairfax, Va., Times reported.
Polk County sheriff's investigators said Nagel illegally received significant amounts of steroids from Richard "Andy" Thomas of Lakeland between April 2008 and May 2009. Thomas has pleaded guilty to state criminal charges.
An April 23 hearing in Fairfax County District Court will determine whether Douglas O. Nagel will be extradited to Florida to face the charges, the Fairfax, Va., Times reported.
Polk County sheriff's investigators said Nagel illegally received significant amounts of steroids from Richard "Andy" Thomas of Lakeland between April 2008 and May 2009. Thomas has pleaded guilty to state criminal charges.
Development of inhaled Testosterone product ends :-(
Vivus Inc said on Wednesday it will cease development of an experimental treatment for women with impaired sexual function due to low testosterone after finding that significant long-term safety requirements would be needed for the product to be approved.
Vivus is also developing Qnexa, a treatment for obesity, and avanafil for erectile dysfunction. Its shares fell 1.1 percent in premarket trading.
The company terminated its development agreement with FemPharm, which was originally signed in 2004, and will return rights to the product, Luramist.
"The decision to terminate the agreement was made in view of the significant long-term safety requirements for the approval of testosterone products in women," said Peter Tam, president of Vivus.
Vivus is also developing Qnexa, a treatment for obesity, and avanafil for erectile dysfunction. Its shares fell 1.1 percent in premarket trading.
The company terminated its development agreement with FemPharm, which was originally signed in 2004, and will return rights to the product, Luramist.
"The decision to terminate the agreement was made in view of the significant long-term safety requirements for the approval of testosterone products in women," said Peter Tam, president of Vivus.
British journalists clueless about UK steroid laws and usage.
A rise in the use of steroids in Peterborough has led to concerns for the safety of body builders in the city.
Staff at the city’s needle exchanges have been surprised to find a fifth of all needles handed in have been specifically used for steroids, more than previously thought.
Out of 350 people who used needle exchanges in the city in the first quarter of this year, 58 handed in steroid needles at the exchange.
It is thought that many of the users of steroids in the city are body builders. As the high steroid usage has just been discovered, drug support agencies are unsure if users are injecting safely or putting themselves at risk.
Karen Kibblewhite, community safety and substance misuse manager for the Safer Peterborough Partnership, said: “Anecdotal evidence indicates that it is possibly Eastern Europeans who regularly attend local gyms who are the main users. Improved harm reduction work with this group will be developed and delivered over the coming year.”
Support will be targeted at needle exchanges in the city. Needles used for steroids are different to those for other drugs, as steroids are injected into muscles, not the bloodstream.
The needles often have to be forced into the arm or the buttocks and injuries can occur.
There are also dangers of cross contamination from used needles, with infections including HIV and hepatitis posing particular risks. Other dangers of steroids include increased aggression levels.
Steroids are class C drugs and it is illegal to possess or use them. They come in two forms, either in tablets, or liquid to be injected.
Staff at the city’s needle exchanges have been surprised to find a fifth of all needles handed in have been specifically used for steroids, more than previously thought.
Out of 350 people who used needle exchanges in the city in the first quarter of this year, 58 handed in steroid needles at the exchange.
It is thought that many of the users of steroids in the city are body builders. As the high steroid usage has just been discovered, drug support agencies are unsure if users are injecting safely or putting themselves at risk.
Karen Kibblewhite, community safety and substance misuse manager for the Safer Peterborough Partnership, said: “Anecdotal evidence indicates that it is possibly Eastern Europeans who regularly attend local gyms who are the main users. Improved harm reduction work with this group will be developed and delivered over the coming year.”
Support will be targeted at needle exchanges in the city. Needles used for steroids are different to those for other drugs, as steroids are injected into muscles, not the bloodstream.
The needles often have to be forced into the arm or the buttocks and injuries can occur.
There are also dangers of cross contamination from used needles, with infections including HIV and hepatitis posing particular risks. Other dangers of steroids include increased aggression levels.
Steroids are class C drugs and it is illegal to possess or use them. They come in two forms, either in tablets, or liquid to be injected.
Two arrested in West Caldwell steroid and H case.
Two men, Joshua Soldano and Brian Leaman, both 29 and from Ramsey, NJ, have been arrested by the VIPER Unit, the Essex County Prosecutor's narcotics and gang task force, the ECPO said.
The arrest on Friday followed leads detectives had received that Soldano was allegedly distributing anabolic steroids in West Caldwell, where he worked as an athletic trainer at a fitness center. He is said to have distributed steroids and hypodermic syringes to an undercover detective from the VIPER Unit during the investigation.
At the time of Soldano's arrest, he was allegedly distributing heroin to Leaman, and both men were arrested. A search of Soldano's vehicle yielded about 40 packages of heroin, 18 grams of cocaine, 8 bottles of anabolic steroids and 29 hypodermic needles. Detectives seized $1,661 in cash and $380 in counterfeit bills from Soldano.
The arrest on Friday followed leads detectives had received that Soldano was allegedly distributing anabolic steroids in West Caldwell, where he worked as an athletic trainer at a fitness center. He is said to have distributed steroids and hypodermic syringes to an undercover detective from the VIPER Unit during the investigation.
At the time of Soldano's arrest, he was allegedly distributing heroin to Leaman, and both men were arrested. A search of Soldano's vehicle yielded about 40 packages of heroin, 18 grams of cocaine, 8 bottles of anabolic steroids and 29 hypodermic needles. Detectives seized $1,661 in cash and $380 in counterfeit bills from Soldano.
Tennis pro pleads guilty to smuggling HGH into Australia.
Players and administrators were digesting the announcement that Australian customs officials had found eight vials of human growth hormone in the luggage of American player Wayne Odesnik last January when Odesnik entered the country to play in a tournament in Brisbane. The routine search is likely to bring tennis' anti-doping program under increased scrutiny.
Odesnik pleaded guilty and was fined $8,320. He faces a two-year suspension under the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Agency code. The International Tennis Federation will conduct an initial investigation and most likely would handle any subsequent adjudication hearing, although it is possible that anti-doping authorities in Australia or the United States could also take jurisdiction. Australian officials notified the ITF of Odesnik's pending offense when it happened, but the ITF had to wait until the legal case ran its course before taking any action.
Odesnik pleaded guilty and was fined $8,320. He faces a two-year suspension under the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Agency code. The International Tennis Federation will conduct an initial investigation and most likely would handle any subsequent adjudication hearing, although it is possible that anti-doping authorities in Australia or the United States could also take jurisdiction. Australian officials notified the ITF of Odesnik's pending offense when it happened, but the ITF had to wait until the legal case ran its course before taking any action.
New DEA rules for e-prescribing of anabolic steroids and other controlled substances.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has released a long-awaited regulation on e-prescribing of controlled substances that is expected to remove a major barrier to use of the application.
The rule is similar to the DEA’s 2008 proposed regulation for e-prescribing, but it adds the option of using a biometric identifier, such as a fingerprint or iris scan, to authenticate the identity of the user of the e-prescribing system.
Under the rule, doctors would be able to electronically prescribe controlled substances such as morphine and other painkillers. Currently, doctors must use paperwork and fax machines for those substances. If they choose to prescribe other drugs electronically, the physicians have to maintain separate paper and electronic record systems, which many choose not to do.
“The regulations provide pharmacies, hospitals, and practitioners with the ability to use modern technology for controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining the closed system of controls on controlled substances dispensing,” the interim final rule states. “Additionally, the regulations will reduce paperwork for DEA registrants who dispense controlled substances and have the potential to reduce prescription forgery.”
The e-prescribing regulations also have the potential to reduce errors and help doctors and hospitals integrate their records, the document said.
The rule covers drugs and other substances that have a potential for abuse and street use, including opioids, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and anabolic steroids. At the same time, the drugs have legitimate usages in medical care and in some practices make up a significant percentage of prescriptions, the DEA said.
In the new regulation, users of e-prescribing systems for controlled substances would have prove their identities with two of the following three factors: something you know (password); something you have (token) or something you are (biometric).
“Authentication based only on knowledge factors is easily subverted because they can be observed, guessed, or hacked and used without the practitioner’s knowledge. In the interim final rule DEA is allowing the use of a biometric as a substitute for a hard token or a password,” the IFR states.
The DEA said it is seeking further comments on alternatives to two-factor authentication while also encouraging e-prescribing.
The rule is similar to the DEA’s 2008 proposed regulation for e-prescribing, but it adds the option of using a biometric identifier, such as a fingerprint or iris scan, to authenticate the identity of the user of the e-prescribing system.
Under the rule, doctors would be able to electronically prescribe controlled substances such as morphine and other painkillers. Currently, doctors must use paperwork and fax machines for those substances. If they choose to prescribe other drugs electronically, the physicians have to maintain separate paper and electronic record systems, which many choose not to do.
“The regulations provide pharmacies, hospitals, and practitioners with the ability to use modern technology for controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining the closed system of controls on controlled substances dispensing,” the interim final rule states. “Additionally, the regulations will reduce paperwork for DEA registrants who dispense controlled substances and have the potential to reduce prescription forgery.”
The e-prescribing regulations also have the potential to reduce errors and help doctors and hospitals integrate their records, the document said.
The rule covers drugs and other substances that have a potential for abuse and street use, including opioids, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and anabolic steroids. At the same time, the drugs have legitimate usages in medical care and in some practices make up a significant percentage of prescriptions, the DEA said.
In the new regulation, users of e-prescribing systems for controlled substances would have prove their identities with two of the following three factors: something you know (password); something you have (token) or something you are (biometric).
“Authentication based only on knowledge factors is easily subverted because they can be observed, guessed, or hacked and used without the practitioner’s knowledge. In the interim final rule DEA is allowing the use of a biometric as a substitute for a hard token or a password,” the IFR states.
The DEA said it is seeking further comments on alternatives to two-factor authentication while also encouraging e-prescribing.
Polk, Florida detectives arrest Virginia chiropractor in local steroids case.
A Polk County case involving illegal steroids resulted Tuesday morning in the arrest of a Virginia chiropractor, the Polk County Sheriff's Office reported.
Undercover detectives assigned to the Polk County Sheriff's Tactical Drug Unit and officers with the U.S. Marshal's Office arrested Dr. Douglas Owen Nagel, 50, of 12025 Edgemere Circle, Reston, Va., on a Polk County arrest warrant.
Nagel was charged with seven counts of solicitation to deliver a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance after a investigation of a Lakeland man led to Nagel as an alleged buyer of steroids.
Nagel, who operates two chiropractic offices in the Virginia/Washington, D.C. area, is accused of having purchased anabolic steroids for at least a year from Richard "Andy" Thomas of Lakeland, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The office of the State Attorney Jerry Hill in Polk County is prosecuting the case.
According to a Sheriff's Office report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Philadelphia intercepted on May 21, 2009, a package containing illicit steroids, including nandrolone decanoate, human growth hormone, and other performance-enhancing drugs, that was destined to Polk County from the Slovak Republic.
On May 26, 2009, Polk Tactical Drug Unit detectives and ICE agents from Tampa served a search warrant at the Lakeland residence where the steroids were to be delivered, the home of Thomas at 1087 Stoney Creek Drive.
According to the report, the warrant served at Thomas' home led to the discovery of multiple firearms, more than $200,000 worth of illegal steroids and extensive documents, including shipping labels showing that Thomas had received steroids from Bulgaria, China, The Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iran, Moldova, Pakistan, Russia, The Slovak Republic, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
After being placed under arrest, Thomas described himself to investigators as "the largest steroid dealer in Central Florida," according to the Sheriff's Office. Thomas went on to say that he had sold steroids to a doctor named Douglas Nagel, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area. Detectives found a shipping label in Thomas' home addressed to Doug Nagel in Sterling, Va.
According to the Sheriff's Office report, Thomas told detectives that Nagel said he worked with professional athletes in the Washington, D.C., area and that he had boasted about supplying steroids to these athletes.
Detectives obtained subpoenas for shipping labels from the U.S. Postal Service and Federal Express to corroborate the shipment of packages between Thomas and Nagel. According to the report, detectives learned that Nagel sent seven packages via FedEx to Thomas from April 4, 2008, to May 4, 2009. In interviews with Nagel and Thomas, both men confirmed that these packages contained money sent from Nagel to Thomas, according to the report. After receiving the money, Thomas then sent Nagel large quantities of anabolic steroids, per Nagel's request.
Aided by the U.S. Postal Service, Polk detectives were able to recover two packing labels from Thomas to Nagel. One confirmed that a package weighing 9.1 ounces was sent to Nagel from Thomas on Aug. 11, 2008, and the other confirmed that a package weighing 14 ounces was sent to Nagel from Thomas on May 4, 2009.
Both men admitted that these packages contained illegal anabolic steroids, according to the Sheriff's Office report.
The Polk Sheriff's Office reports that it has no conclusive evidence or proof that Nagel has provided any steroids to any professional athletes.
Thomas currently is awaiting federal sentencing on charges of possession of anabolic steroids with intent to sell or distribute and importation of anabolic steroids into Florida.
Undercover detectives assigned to the Polk County Sheriff's Tactical Drug Unit and officers with the U.S. Marshal's Office arrested Dr. Douglas Owen Nagel, 50, of 12025 Edgemere Circle, Reston, Va., on a Polk County arrest warrant.
Nagel was charged with seven counts of solicitation to deliver a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance after a investigation of a Lakeland man led to Nagel as an alleged buyer of steroids.
Nagel, who operates two chiropractic offices in the Virginia/Washington, D.C. area, is accused of having purchased anabolic steroids for at least a year from Richard "Andy" Thomas of Lakeland, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The office of the State Attorney Jerry Hill in Polk County is prosecuting the case.
According to a Sheriff's Office report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Philadelphia intercepted on May 21, 2009, a package containing illicit steroids, including nandrolone decanoate, human growth hormone, and other performance-enhancing drugs, that was destined to Polk County from the Slovak Republic.
On May 26, 2009, Polk Tactical Drug Unit detectives and ICE agents from Tampa served a search warrant at the Lakeland residence where the steroids were to be delivered, the home of Thomas at 1087 Stoney Creek Drive.
According to the report, the warrant served at Thomas' home led to the discovery of multiple firearms, more than $200,000 worth of illegal steroids and extensive documents, including shipping labels showing that Thomas had received steroids from Bulgaria, China, The Czech Republic, Greece, India, Iran, Moldova, Pakistan, Russia, The Slovak Republic, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
After being placed under arrest, Thomas described himself to investigators as "the largest steroid dealer in Central Florida," according to the Sheriff's Office. Thomas went on to say that he had sold steroids to a doctor named Douglas Nagel, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area. Detectives found a shipping label in Thomas' home addressed to Doug Nagel in Sterling, Va.
According to the Sheriff's Office report, Thomas told detectives that Nagel said he worked with professional athletes in the Washington, D.C., area and that he had boasted about supplying steroids to these athletes.
Detectives obtained subpoenas for shipping labels from the U.S. Postal Service and Federal Express to corroborate the shipment of packages between Thomas and Nagel. According to the report, detectives learned that Nagel sent seven packages via FedEx to Thomas from April 4, 2008, to May 4, 2009. In interviews with Nagel and Thomas, both men confirmed that these packages contained money sent from Nagel to Thomas, according to the report. After receiving the money, Thomas then sent Nagel large quantities of anabolic steroids, per Nagel's request.
Aided by the U.S. Postal Service, Polk detectives were able to recover two packing labels from Thomas to Nagel. One confirmed that a package weighing 9.1 ounces was sent to Nagel from Thomas on Aug. 11, 2008, and the other confirmed that a package weighing 14 ounces was sent to Nagel from Thomas on May 4, 2009.
Both men admitted that these packages contained illegal anabolic steroids, according to the Sheriff's Office report.
The Polk Sheriff's Office reports that it has no conclusive evidence or proof that Nagel has provided any steroids to any professional athletes.
Thomas currently is awaiting federal sentencing on charges of possession of anabolic steroids with intent to sell or distribute and importation of anabolic steroids into Florida.
Floridian chiropractor arrested on steroid charges.
Sheriff to detail Virginia steroids case involving Polk man.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd will hold a news conference this morning to announce that a Virginia chiropractor arrested on steroid charges purchased the drugs from a Lakeland man.
The chiropractor was arrested by sheriff's detectives this morning at his Virginia home and charged with one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance (steroids) and seven counts of solicitation to deliver a controlled substance (steroids), according to a sheriff's office media release.
The arrest was made after an investigation revealed the chiropractor purchased the steroids through the mail from a Lakeland man.
Sheriff's officials are not releasing the name of the chiropractor or the man they say sold him the steroids until the news conference.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd will hold a news conference this morning to announce that a Virginia chiropractor arrested on steroid charges purchased the drugs from a Lakeland man.
The chiropractor was arrested by sheriff's detectives this morning at his Virginia home and charged with one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance (steroids) and seven counts of solicitation to deliver a controlled substance (steroids), according to a sheriff's office media release.
The arrest was made after an investigation revealed the chiropractor purchased the steroids through the mail from a Lakeland man.
Sheriff's officials are not releasing the name of the chiropractor or the man they say sold him the steroids until the news conference.
Steriod doctor pleads guilty.
A physician who worked with a Bay Ridge pharmacist to provide illegal steroids to borough juicers squeezed out a plea arrangement from prosecutors Friday.
As his trial entered its third week, Dr. Richard Lucente, 38, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy with the understanding that he will receive five years probation. He will also have to serve 200 hours of community service and give up his medical license, Kings County prosecutors said. He’s expected to be sentenced on May 12 in front of Judge Abraham Gerges.
“He is a convicted felon,” Kings County Assistant District Attorney Michael Spanakos told reporters. “He is not writing prescriptions.”
The deal spares him the 30-year prison term he was facing after his arrest in February 2009.
Lucente, who saw patients at the New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center on Staten Island, provided prescriptions for steroids and human growth hormone to scores of people “for no legitimate purpose,” prosecutors said.
His patient list included 19 police officers and several weightlifters, many of whom were from Brooklyn. It also included Staten Island body-builder Joseph Baglio, whose prolonged steroid abuse damaged his heart so badly that he needed a transplant before meeting Lucente.
Baglio died of heart failure in 2007 after Lucente supplied him with a host of testosterone, steroid and human growth hormone prescriptions with full knowledge of his medical history, claiming that the prescriptions were for Baglio’s “testosterone deficiency,” prosecutors said.
Once he wrote the prescriptions, Lucente sent his patients to Lowen’s Drug Store, on Third Avenue between Ovington and Bay Ridge avenues in Bay Ridge, to get them filled out. As early as 2004, Lowen’s had marketed itself “as a source for compounded hormones, including testosterone to physicians in Brooklyn and Staten Island,” according to an indictment.
Lowen’s reportedly paid Lucente almost $30,000 in kickbacks between 2005 and 2007 for steering steroid patients its way. He also received $530,000 from the 220 clients to whom he provided steroid prescriptions, according to court papers.
During a prolonged criminal investigation that included at least two raids at Lowen’s, proprietor John Rossi, 56, took his own life in an office above the pharmacy in January 2008. Family friends said that the investigation, and the prospect of going to prison, weighed heavily on his mind.
Criminal charges against Lowen’s were dropped after the suicide, officials said.
Lowen’s is currently under new management. The Rossi family sold the business shortly after the pharmacist’s death.
Attempts to reach John Meringolo, Lucente’s attorney, were unsuccessful. The phone number at the New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center has been disconnected.
When swarmed by reporters after the plea arrangement was struck, Lucente said that he pleaded guilty to avoid jail and “be with my son.”
As his trial entered its third week, Dr. Richard Lucente, 38, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy with the understanding that he will receive five years probation. He will also have to serve 200 hours of community service and give up his medical license, Kings County prosecutors said. He’s expected to be sentenced on May 12 in front of Judge Abraham Gerges.
“He is a convicted felon,” Kings County Assistant District Attorney Michael Spanakos told reporters. “He is not writing prescriptions.”
The deal spares him the 30-year prison term he was facing after his arrest in February 2009.
Lucente, who saw patients at the New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center on Staten Island, provided prescriptions for steroids and human growth hormone to scores of people “for no legitimate purpose,” prosecutors said.
His patient list included 19 police officers and several weightlifters, many of whom were from Brooklyn. It also included Staten Island body-builder Joseph Baglio, whose prolonged steroid abuse damaged his heart so badly that he needed a transplant before meeting Lucente.
Baglio died of heart failure in 2007 after Lucente supplied him with a host of testosterone, steroid and human growth hormone prescriptions with full knowledge of his medical history, claiming that the prescriptions were for Baglio’s “testosterone deficiency,” prosecutors said.
Once he wrote the prescriptions, Lucente sent his patients to Lowen’s Drug Store, on Third Avenue between Ovington and Bay Ridge avenues in Bay Ridge, to get them filled out. As early as 2004, Lowen’s had marketed itself “as a source for compounded hormones, including testosterone to physicians in Brooklyn and Staten Island,” according to an indictment.
Lowen’s reportedly paid Lucente almost $30,000 in kickbacks between 2005 and 2007 for steering steroid patients its way. He also received $530,000 from the 220 clients to whom he provided steroid prescriptions, according to court papers.
During a prolonged criminal investigation that included at least two raids at Lowen’s, proprietor John Rossi, 56, took his own life in an office above the pharmacy in January 2008. Family friends said that the investigation, and the prospect of going to prison, weighed heavily on his mind.
Criminal charges against Lowen’s were dropped after the suicide, officials said.
Lowen’s is currently under new management. The Rossi family sold the business shortly after the pharmacist’s death.
Attempts to reach John Meringolo, Lucente’s attorney, were unsuccessful. The phone number at the New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center has been disconnected.
When swarmed by reporters after the plea arrangement was struck, Lucente said that he pleaded guilty to avoid jail and “be with my son.”
Men take more risks when pretty women are around.
Being around a pretty woman can make men take more risks, a new study finds.
Researchers looked at the risk-taking behaviors of 96 young adult men, with an average age of nearly 22, by asking them to do both easy and difficult tricks on skateboards.
First, the young men performed the tricks in front of another man, then in front of a young, attractive female. (The attractiveness of the woman was independently assessed by 20 male raters.)
The testosterone levels of the skateboarders were measured after each trick. Testosterone is a male sex hormone that fuels sexual interest, arousal and activity, and is also associated with increased competition and risk-taking.
When skateboarders attempt tricks, they make a split-second decision about whether to abort the trick or try to land it, based on a mid-air evaluation of the likelihood of success and on the physical costs that failure might bring — such as falling flat on their face.
It was that moment the researchers sought to examine, because it resembles the type of risky decisions that young men make when behind the steering wheel of a car or when in physical confrontations with each other. As a group, young males are at the highest risk of early death of any group in industrialized countries in part because they are the biggest risk-takers.
As the researchers expected, the skateboarders took greater risks in the presence of the attractive female, even when they knew there was a greater chance they could crash. Along with this increased risk-taking, the young men had higher testosterone levels when they performed in front of the female than when they did their jumps in front of another guy.
"This experiment provides evidence for an effect that has existed in art, mythology, and literature for thousands of years: Beautiful women lead men to throw caution to the wind," wrote the authors of the study, Richard Ronay and William von Hippel, of the University of Queensland in Australia.
"These findings suggest that, for men, the adaptive benefits gained by enticing mates and intimidating rivals may have resulted in evolved hormonal and neurological mechanisms that facilitated greater risk-taking in the presence of attractive women," they added.
Researchers looked at the risk-taking behaviors of 96 young adult men, with an average age of nearly 22, by asking them to do both easy and difficult tricks on skateboards.
First, the young men performed the tricks in front of another man, then in front of a young, attractive female. (The attractiveness of the woman was independently assessed by 20 male raters.)
The testosterone levels of the skateboarders were measured after each trick. Testosterone is a male sex hormone that fuels sexual interest, arousal and activity, and is also associated with increased competition and risk-taking.
When skateboarders attempt tricks, they make a split-second decision about whether to abort the trick or try to land it, based on a mid-air evaluation of the likelihood of success and on the physical costs that failure might bring — such as falling flat on their face.
It was that moment the researchers sought to examine, because it resembles the type of risky decisions that young men make when behind the steering wheel of a car or when in physical confrontations with each other. As a group, young males are at the highest risk of early death of any group in industrialized countries in part because they are the biggest risk-takers.
As the researchers expected, the skateboarders took greater risks in the presence of the attractive female, even when they knew there was a greater chance they could crash. Along with this increased risk-taking, the young men had higher testosterone levels when they performed in front of the female than when they did their jumps in front of another guy.
"This experiment provides evidence for an effect that has existed in art, mythology, and literature for thousands of years: Beautiful women lead men to throw caution to the wind," wrote the authors of the study, Richard Ronay and William von Hippel, of the University of Queensland in Australia.
"These findings suggest that, for men, the adaptive benefits gained by enticing mates and intimidating rivals may have resulted in evolved hormonal and neurological mechanisms that facilitated greater risk-taking in the presence of attractive women," they added.
Bigorexia and steroid story from South Africa.
He'll eat nutritious high protein and swallow raw eggs/Try to build up his shoulders, chest, arms and legs/Such an effort if only he knew of my plan/When in just seven days I can make you a man," Dr Frank N Furter sings in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, about his plan to create a muscular man with the "Charles Atlas seal of approval".
Since Charles Atlas made a name for bodybuilding almost a century ago, the popularity of the hulk image has not abated. Not least in the minds of men.
And some huge men - who have trained up bulging, cut muscle, often with the use of anabolic steroids and dangerous supplements - still feel they are puny. They suffer from a disorder dubbed "bigorexia", or reverse anorexia.
Take Max (not his real name). He has virtually doubled his size in four years, from about 52kg at 21 years old to about 98kg. In the run-up to bodybuilding competitions he takes potentially lethal doses of fat burners and starves himself of food and water.
Despite winning championships, Max says: "When I look in a mirror I see a skinny boy with a fat stomach. I have such a complex when I go out I wear long-sleeve shirts and I never wear shorts - even in 30 degree heat."
Unlike many bodybuilders, men with this disorder don't exult in their size, though they endure punishing routines to achieve it.
Max, a personal trainer, says: "It is an addiction. We are so consumed by it. Everybody wants to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger but only a few are willing to go to those extremes. Bodybuilding is a selfish sport. You do not want to go out. Your life is gym, eating, supplements and sleeping."
Max, who does not admit to using steroids, says: "There is no chance of a (sexual) relationship as your libido is shot."
The obsession to build muscle comes at huge expense and cost to their relationships. Bodybuilders spend a fortune on supplements, fat burners and food according to Max, who has forked out about R25000 a month.
He says they swallow unsafe doses of illegal, toxic fat burners and steroids, even insulin. Some inject horse steroid directly into the abdominal muscles so they stick out more.
Max says: "I've taken DNP (dinitrophenol) and the main ingredient is pesticides. You lose half to one kilogram a day. It forces your body temperature up so that you constantly sweat all night. If you take it longer than a week you can die. I've been taken to hospital."
He says that in season he does cardio training in the morning and lifts weights at night, and in between he just wants to sleep. "The training is horrible as you push yourself until you vomit, and feel like death.
"My size is really too big for my frame and sometime I get out of breath just walking up the stairs."
Max says that for eight weeks before a competition he eats only egg whites and lettuce. The week before he goes on stage he dehydrates, drinking less and using black coffee, diuretics and glycerine to "force the last water into the muscle".
The day before the pre-judging, he will drink only 100ml of water until he gets so thirsty all he can think about is water. Before contestants go on stage they take Viagra to pump up muscle, and some will even inject oil into their biceps.
Max says the banter behind the scenes, for example telling a competitor his hamstrings look skinny, is intended to psyche their opponents out.
"You want to get into their heads so they are not confident," he says.
On stage the bodybuilders pose for the crowds, winding up their fans to admire their size and symmetry, gleaming under the spray-on tan. "You feel amped on adrenaline and squeeze as hard as you can," says Max.
"If you win, it's very rewarding but you may as well come last as be second. I've gone off the stage breaking trophies. Ninety-nine percent of us are sore losers."
Max says he feels "flat, tired and miserable" if he walks away without a medal.
"The Sunday after the show you eat so much junk. Then the whole cycle starts again."
Since Charles Atlas made a name for bodybuilding almost a century ago, the popularity of the hulk image has not abated. Not least in the minds of men.
And some huge men - who have trained up bulging, cut muscle, often with the use of anabolic steroids and dangerous supplements - still feel they are puny. They suffer from a disorder dubbed "bigorexia", or reverse anorexia.
Take Max (not his real name). He has virtually doubled his size in four years, from about 52kg at 21 years old to about 98kg. In the run-up to bodybuilding competitions he takes potentially lethal doses of fat burners and starves himself of food and water.
Despite winning championships, Max says: "When I look in a mirror I see a skinny boy with a fat stomach. I have such a complex when I go out I wear long-sleeve shirts and I never wear shorts - even in 30 degree heat."
Unlike many bodybuilders, men with this disorder don't exult in their size, though they endure punishing routines to achieve it.
Max, a personal trainer, says: "It is an addiction. We are so consumed by it. Everybody wants to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger but only a few are willing to go to those extremes. Bodybuilding is a selfish sport. You do not want to go out. Your life is gym, eating, supplements and sleeping."
Max, who does not admit to using steroids, says: "There is no chance of a (sexual) relationship as your libido is shot."
The obsession to build muscle comes at huge expense and cost to their relationships. Bodybuilders spend a fortune on supplements, fat burners and food according to Max, who has forked out about R25000 a month.
He says they swallow unsafe doses of illegal, toxic fat burners and steroids, even insulin. Some inject horse steroid directly into the abdominal muscles so they stick out more.
Max says: "I've taken DNP (dinitrophenol) and the main ingredient is pesticides. You lose half to one kilogram a day. It forces your body temperature up so that you constantly sweat all night. If you take it longer than a week you can die. I've been taken to hospital."
He says that in season he does cardio training in the morning and lifts weights at night, and in between he just wants to sleep. "The training is horrible as you push yourself until you vomit, and feel like death.
"My size is really too big for my frame and sometime I get out of breath just walking up the stairs."
Max says that for eight weeks before a competition he eats only egg whites and lettuce. The week before he goes on stage he dehydrates, drinking less and using black coffee, diuretics and glycerine to "force the last water into the muscle".
The day before the pre-judging, he will drink only 100ml of water until he gets so thirsty all he can think about is water. Before contestants go on stage they take Viagra to pump up muscle, and some will even inject oil into their biceps.
Max says the banter behind the scenes, for example telling a competitor his hamstrings look skinny, is intended to psyche their opponents out.
"You want to get into their heads so they are not confident," he says.
On stage the bodybuilders pose for the crowds, winding up their fans to admire their size and symmetry, gleaming under the spray-on tan. "You feel amped on adrenaline and squeeze as hard as you can," says Max.
"If you win, it's very rewarding but you may as well come last as be second. I've gone off the stage breaking trophies. Ninety-nine percent of us are sore losers."
Max says he feels "flat, tired and miserable" if he walks away without a medal.
"The Sunday after the show you eat so much junk. Then the whole cycle starts again."
New York doctor admits he pushed steroids on patients.
The Staten Island doctor on trial for allegedly giving steroids to patients -- 19 city cops and bodybuilders, including a heart transplant recipient from Westerleigh who later died -- pleaded guilty today.
Richard Lucente, 38, admitted in Brooklyn Supreme Court that he received kickbacks from Lowen's Pharmacy in Bay Ridge for sending patients to the drugstore to fill prescriptions.
The drugstore was co-owned by John Rossi of Eltingville, who killed himself in January 2008 shortly after a federal raid on the business uncovered $8 million worth of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids.
Prosecutors had previously claimed Lucente -- who had a Dongan Hills office and ran the New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center in West Brighton -- received about $27,000 from Lowen's and netted nearly $530,000 from 220 clients between 2005 and 2007.
Lucente, facing 30 years if convicted, pleaded guilty to once count of conspiracy before Justice Abraham Gerges.
He was given five years' probation, 200 hours of community service and will surrender his medical license.
"He is a convicted felon," prosecutor Michael Spanakos told media outlets. "He is not writing prescriptions."
Lucente had also been charged with reckless endangerment for his alleged responsibility in the death of 39-year-old bodybuilder Joseph Baglio.
For a fee of about $500 per month, Lucente had treated Baglio in his "wellness program" between 2005 and 2007, giving him anabolic steroids and human growth hormone for a supposed testosterone deficiency.
Baglio, who had received a heart transplant in late 2004, died of heart failure on March 8, 2007.
Lucente told reporters outside of court that he took the plea deal to avoid jail time and because he has a young son.
The trial began March 4 and had been expected to last at least six weeks, including testimony from city and federal investigators, three of Lucente's former patients, an official from the state Department of Health and dozens of medical experts, including a Los Angeles doctor who helped create Major League Baseball drug testing policy.
Richard Lucente, 38, admitted in Brooklyn Supreme Court that he received kickbacks from Lowen's Pharmacy in Bay Ridge for sending patients to the drugstore to fill prescriptions.
The drugstore was co-owned by John Rossi of Eltingville, who killed himself in January 2008 shortly after a federal raid on the business uncovered $8 million worth of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids.
Prosecutors had previously claimed Lucente -- who had a Dongan Hills office and ran the New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center in West Brighton -- received about $27,000 from Lowen's and netted nearly $530,000 from 220 clients between 2005 and 2007.
Lucente, facing 30 years if convicted, pleaded guilty to once count of conspiracy before Justice Abraham Gerges.
He was given five years' probation, 200 hours of community service and will surrender his medical license.
"He is a convicted felon," prosecutor Michael Spanakos told media outlets. "He is not writing prescriptions."
Lucente had also been charged with reckless endangerment for his alleged responsibility in the death of 39-year-old bodybuilder Joseph Baglio.
For a fee of about $500 per month, Lucente had treated Baglio in his "wellness program" between 2005 and 2007, giving him anabolic steroids and human growth hormone for a supposed testosterone deficiency.
Baglio, who had received a heart transplant in late 2004, died of heart failure on March 8, 2007.
Lucente told reporters outside of court that he took the plea deal to avoid jail time and because he has a young son.
The trial began March 4 and had been expected to last at least six weeks, including testimony from city and federal investigators, three of Lucente's former patients, an official from the state Department of Health and dozens of medical experts, including a Los Angeles doctor who helped create Major League Baseball drug testing policy.
British man bailed after police launch 'anabolic steroids dealing' probe.
A man was held in connection with dealing steroids following police raids at St Helens premises.
The 27-year-old, who has since been released on bail pending further enquiries, was arrested on suspicion of possessing anabolic steroids with intent to supply.
He was taken in for questioning following the police swoop earlier this month.
A Merseyside Police spokesman confirmed a warrant had been executed under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
A number of items were seized by officers and have been sent away for forensic analysis while the investigation continues.
The 27-year-old, who has since been released on bail pending further enquiries, was arrested on suspicion of possessing anabolic steroids with intent to supply.
He was taken in for questioning following the police swoop earlier this month.
A Merseyside Police spokesman confirmed a warrant had been executed under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
A number of items were seized by officers and have been sent away for forensic analysis while the investigation continues.
Bodybuilder Jason Arntz sentenced to a five year suspended prison term.
A bodybuilder who supplied the pill press for a group involved in manufacturing anabolic steroids in East Hanover was sentenced today to a suspended five-year prison term and 150 hours of community service.
Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in Morristown warned South Brunswick resident Jason Arntz, 38, that if he gets arrested for any type of offense in the next two-and-a-half years he would send him to prison.
Arntz pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to manufacture steroids between February 1 and March 8, 2007. While not involved in actual steroid sales, he admitted giving a pill press to East Hanover resident Michael B. Dente so the drugs could be made more quickly than by hand.
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Vincent Leo asked the judge to impose an outright state prison term, noting that Arntz has a 2001 drug distribution conviction out of Union County.
The judge said he thought neither probation nor a direct sentence to prison was appropriate to Arntz's circumstances.
''I'm going to keep you under wraps in a different way,'' Manahan said.
Besides the suspended prison term, he ordered 150 hours of community service which must include speaking publicly about the dangers of steroid use. Arntz also must pay $1,175 in fines and penalties.
''Maybe you can prevent some other person from going down the same path you did,'' Manahan said.
Defense lawyer Robert Dunn said that Arntz, who still body-builds and works as a salesman, was hooked on steroids at one time but now is under a doctor's care.
Dente, now 27, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to possess steroids with the intent to distribute. He was sentenced last June to two years' probation, 90 days on the Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program, 100 hours of community service, and $650 in fines.
Anthony M. Cuppari, a co-defendant in the steroid case that netted 15 people in 2007, pleaded guilty in January to charges of giving steroids to a juvenile and cocaine to his girlfriend. The prosecutor's office will ask the judge to send Cuppari to prison for up to 10 years on April 9.
Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in Morristown warned South Brunswick resident Jason Arntz, 38, that if he gets arrested for any type of offense in the next two-and-a-half years he would send him to prison.
Arntz pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to manufacture steroids between February 1 and March 8, 2007. While not involved in actual steroid sales, he admitted giving a pill press to East Hanover resident Michael B. Dente so the drugs could be made more quickly than by hand.
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Vincent Leo asked the judge to impose an outright state prison term, noting that Arntz has a 2001 drug distribution conviction out of Union County.
The judge said he thought neither probation nor a direct sentence to prison was appropriate to Arntz's circumstances.
''I'm going to keep you under wraps in a different way,'' Manahan said.
Besides the suspended prison term, he ordered 150 hours of community service which must include speaking publicly about the dangers of steroid use. Arntz also must pay $1,175 in fines and penalties.
''Maybe you can prevent some other person from going down the same path you did,'' Manahan said.
Defense lawyer Robert Dunn said that Arntz, who still body-builds and works as a salesman, was hooked on steroids at one time but now is under a doctor's care.
Dente, now 27, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to possess steroids with the intent to distribute. He was sentenced last June to two years' probation, 90 days on the Sheriff's Labor Assistance Program, 100 hours of community service, and $650 in fines.
Anthony M. Cuppari, a co-defendant in the steroid case that netted 15 people in 2007, pleaded guilty in January to charges of giving steroids to a juvenile and cocaine to his girlfriend. The prosecutor's office will ask the judge to send Cuppari to prison for up to 10 years on April 9.
Judge grants probation to doctor who was key prosecution witness at steroids trial.
A South Carolina doctor whose testimony was crucial in the prosecution of owners of a local pharmacy that supplied thousands of dosages of steroids will not have to spend any time in prison, a federal judge ruled today.
In fact, U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade accepted the recommendation of prosecutors and imposed a shorter-than-normal probation term on Pamela Pyle. The osteopath from Myrtle Beach, S.C., will spend only a year on probation -- the shortest time allowed by law.
Pyle, 47, pleaded guilty in May 2008 to misprision of a felony, which means she was aware of a crime and concealed it. She was one of the first people targeted in a wide-ranging steroids probe centering on Applied Pharmacy Services.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Dobbins sounded more like she was recommending Pyle for an award than participating in a sentencing hearing. Although advisory sentencing guidelines called for probation, Dobbins asked the judge for a "downward departure" to allow the shorter probation term.
"I know that sounds strange," Dobbins said. "We want this court to be aware of the full extent of Dr. Pyle's cooperation."
Dobbins told Granade that Pyle immediately cooperated after learning that she was under investigation in summer 2006. The doctor voluntarily surrendered a laptop computer that contained e-mails incriminating a co-defendant. She also testified at a trial of 10 people accused in the steroids conspiracy.
"She made an excellent and credible witness," Dobbins said. "Her testimony was important throughout the trial."
Prosecutors contended that the principal owners of Applied Pharmacy ran a steroids mill, reaping millions of dollars from the sale of the drug. The pharmacy shipped the drugs to customers all over the United States, most of whom were seeking anti-aging treatment or help building muscle mass for athletic competition.
According to trial testimony, the customers also included professional athletes, such as former baseball slugger Jose Canseco and wrestler Kurt Angle.
In fact, U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade accepted the recommendation of prosecutors and imposed a shorter-than-normal probation term on Pamela Pyle. The osteopath from Myrtle Beach, S.C., will spend only a year on probation -- the shortest time allowed by law.
Pyle, 47, pleaded guilty in May 2008 to misprision of a felony, which means she was aware of a crime and concealed it. She was one of the first people targeted in a wide-ranging steroids probe centering on Applied Pharmacy Services.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Dobbins sounded more like she was recommending Pyle for an award than participating in a sentencing hearing. Although advisory sentencing guidelines called for probation, Dobbins asked the judge for a "downward departure" to allow the shorter probation term.
"I know that sounds strange," Dobbins said. "We want this court to be aware of the full extent of Dr. Pyle's cooperation."
Dobbins told Granade that Pyle immediately cooperated after learning that she was under investigation in summer 2006. The doctor voluntarily surrendered a laptop computer that contained e-mails incriminating a co-defendant. She also testified at a trial of 10 people accused in the steroids conspiracy.
"She made an excellent and credible witness," Dobbins said. "Her testimony was important throughout the trial."
Prosecutors contended that the principal owners of Applied Pharmacy ran a steroids mill, reaping millions of dollars from the sale of the drug. The pharmacy shipped the drugs to customers all over the United States, most of whom were seeking anti-aging treatment or help building muscle mass for athletic competition.
According to trial testimony, the customers also included professional athletes, such as former baseball slugger Jose Canseco and wrestler Kurt Angle.
American cyclist suspended for two years.
The USADA announced today that an independent, three-member American Arbitration Association/Court of Arbitration for Sport (AAA/CAS) panel has handed down a decision that will give David Clinger a sanction for testing positive for two prohibited substances.
Clinger, 32, of Sandy, Utah, tested positive for synthetic testosterone and modafinil in a sample collected from him on July 30, 2009, after placing second in the men’s road race at the USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships in Bend, Oregon.
Clinger, 32, of Sandy, Utah, tested positive for synthetic testosterone and modafinil in a sample collected from him on July 30, 2009, after placing second in the men’s road race at the USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships in Bend, Oregon.
French cyclist doping doctor is jailed for a year.
A failed appeal against a two-year sentence means that former cycling medical adviser Bernard Sainz will have to spend a year in jail.
The former soigneur was implicated in the 1998 Tour de France Festina scandal, and in 2002, Sainz was stopped at a traffic control and a haul of illegal substances was found.
A subsequent search of cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke's house revealed EPO, morphine and clenbuterole, which helps building muscle mass. Vandenbroucke died in October last year of a pulmonary embolism.
On Thursday, a Paris court rejected Sainz's appeal against his sentence after being convicted of "incitement to doping" and illegally practising medicine in 1998 and 1999.
The former soigneur was implicated in the 1998 Tour de France Festina scandal, and in 2002, Sainz was stopped at a traffic control and a haul of illegal substances was found.
A subsequent search of cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke's house revealed EPO, morphine and clenbuterole, which helps building muscle mass. Vandenbroucke died in October last year of a pulmonary embolism.
On Thursday, a Paris court rejected Sainz's appeal against his sentence after being convicted of "incitement to doping" and illegally practising medicine in 1998 and 1999.
Steroids dealer gets new lawyer, may delay sentencing
A Lakeland man accused of having the largest collection of illegal steroids in Polk's history got a new lawyer Thursday morning. Magistrate Judge Anthony E. Porcelli appointed the Federal Public Defender to represent Richard “Andy” Thomas.
Porcelli said that “irreconcilable differences” had developed between Thomas and his private lawyer, Mark A. Taylor.
The lawyer wrote in a motion to withdraw from the case that Thomas sent a letter to a federal judge expressing dissatisfaction with Taylor's representation.
After Thursday morning's hearing, Taylor would not comment about what any differences were with his client.
Taylor did say he was disappointed that Thomas sent the letter to the judge rather than speak to him directly.
Thomas pleaded guilty Nov. 10 to possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, a charge that carries a maximum of five years in prison. He was scheduled to be sentenced on March 31.
However, Thomas' switch to a new lawyer will likely delay that sentencing hearing.
Australian steroid user in court.
A BALLARAT man alerted to a drug raid at his home drove there, unlicensed, to find that police had located his stash of steroids, a court was told yesterday.
Leigh David Hutchings was found with 20 syringes filled with testosterone at his home on January 7, which he told police he used for bodybuilding.
The 27-year-old pleaded guilty at the Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday to possessing a drug of dependence, using a drug of dependence and driving while disqualified.
Leigh David Hutchings was found with 20 syringes filled with testosterone at his home on January 7, which he told police he used for bodybuilding.
The 27-year-old pleaded guilty at the Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday to possessing a drug of dependence, using a drug of dependence and driving while disqualified.
Secret of Insulin-Like Growth Factor Revealed.
Bodybuilders take insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) to promote muscle-building, and scientists have studied their effects on muscle and their role in the growth and spread of cancer, but experts had been unable to uncover the secret of how IGFs work on muscle cells, until now.
Insulin-like growth factors are a type of hormone that is secreted from many different cells. The two main IGFs are IGF-I and IGF-II, and both resemble insulin in structure. IGFs work by attaching themselves to receptors on target cells. This triggers a series of reactions that direct the cell to do something.
When muscle is being formed, the binding of IGF to a receptor can trigger one of two responses from the myoblasts, which are immature cells that develop into muscle tissue. One, the cells divide; or two, the cells become specialized. Once a muscle cell takes one course of action, it cannot take another action at a later time. Experts have long wondered how stimulation of the same receptor by the same hormone can trigger two very different responses, and now Cumming Duan, a molecular biologist at the University of Michigan, believes he and his team have found the answer, and the answer is oxygen.
It appears that the ability of myoblasts to respond is determined by the amount of oxygen that is available. When there is an adequate amount of oxygen, IGF promotes differentiation of muscle cells, but when oxygen levels are below normal, IGF promotes muscle cell division. When oxygen is low, a factor called the HIF-1 complex reprograms the steps that ultimately control the cell’s response.
These findings may be useful in several areas, including muscle loss (atrophy) as people grow older. Duan notes that “If we can find a way to affect IGF signaling, we may be able to stop or reverse the loss.” The researchers also believe their findings could result in new treatments for muscle-wasting diseases, shed light on the role of IGFs in cancer, and possibly lead to new ways to treat cancer.
SOURCE:
University of Michigan news release, Mar. 15, 2010
Insulin-like growth factors are a type of hormone that is secreted from many different cells. The two main IGFs are IGF-I and IGF-II, and both resemble insulin in structure. IGFs work by attaching themselves to receptors on target cells. This triggers a series of reactions that direct the cell to do something.
When muscle is being formed, the binding of IGF to a receptor can trigger one of two responses from the myoblasts, which are immature cells that develop into muscle tissue. One, the cells divide; or two, the cells become specialized. Once a muscle cell takes one course of action, it cannot take another action at a later time. Experts have long wondered how stimulation of the same receptor by the same hormone can trigger two very different responses, and now Cumming Duan, a molecular biologist at the University of Michigan, believes he and his team have found the answer, and the answer is oxygen.
It appears that the ability of myoblasts to respond is determined by the amount of oxygen that is available. When there is an adequate amount of oxygen, IGF promotes differentiation of muscle cells, but when oxygen levels are below normal, IGF promotes muscle cell division. When oxygen is low, a factor called the HIF-1 complex reprograms the steps that ultimately control the cell’s response.
These findings may be useful in several areas, including muscle loss (atrophy) as people grow older. Duan notes that “If we can find a way to affect IGF signaling, we may be able to stop or reverse the loss.” The researchers also believe their findings could result in new treatments for muscle-wasting diseases, shed light on the role of IGFs in cancer, and possibly lead to new ways to treat cancer.
SOURCE:
University of Michigan news release, Mar. 15, 2010
Anti-steroid propaganda from Florida State College.
However, when used improperly or for the wrong reasons they can be very harmful. A steroid is a terpenoid lipid characterized by its sterane core and additional functional groups. The core is a carbon structure of four fused rings: three cyclohexane rings and one cyclopentane ring. The steroids vary by the functional groups attached to these rings and the oxidation state of the rings. If you over work the muscle or use too much of the muscle combined with steroid use, it could possibly explode the muscle.
$75 million drug heist is bitter pill for Lilly.
It was a brazen, well-planned break-in, straight out of "Mission: Impossible" -- but the loot wasn't gold bars or bundles of cash.
Thieves made off with $75 million worth of pharmaceutical drugs from an Eli Lilly and Co. warehouse in Enfield, Conn., the latest and perhaps largest in a rising string of industry thefts, raising questions about drug security and where the products will wind up.
Early Sunday, under cover of darkness, bandits scaled the side of the building and cut a hole in the roof, rappelled inside on ropes, disabled the alarm and spent more than an hour loading pallets of drugs into a waiting vehicle at the loading dock.
Last year, thieves stole $184 million worth of pharmaceutical drugs in the U.S., about double the amount from a year earlier, according to FreightWatch International, an industry security company based in Austin, Texas.
Thieves made off with $75 million worth of pharmaceutical drugs from an Eli Lilly and Co. warehouse in Enfield, Conn., the latest and perhaps largest in a rising string of industry thefts, raising questions about drug security and where the products will wind up.
Early Sunday, under cover of darkness, bandits scaled the side of the building and cut a hole in the roof, rappelled inside on ropes, disabled the alarm and spent more than an hour loading pallets of drugs into a waiting vehicle at the loading dock.
Last year, thieves stole $184 million worth of pharmaceutical drugs in the U.S., about double the amount from a year earlier, according to FreightWatch International, an industry security company based in Austin, Texas.
Prosecutors want Mobile steroids defendants in jail.
Federal prosecutors in Mobile asked a judge last week to jail four of five men convicted on steroids charges until they are sentenced later this year.
After a jury convicted the defendants last month, U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade denied a request by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Dobbins to put them in jail. But Dobbins argued in a court filing last week that the law requires them to be jailed because they could be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The defendants included the owner of a Colorado anti-aging clinic, Brett W. Branch; the owners of Applied Pharmacy Services, A. Samuel Kelley II and Jason R. Kelley; and Applied's supervising pharmacist, J. Michael Bennett. Each was convicted of conspiracy to distribute steroids to a person younger than 21.
Dobbins wrote that the mandatory-jailing rule does not apply to a fifth defendant, Jodi Silvio, who was convicted of a different steroids offense.
After a jury convicted the defendants last month, U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade denied a request by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Dobbins to put them in jail. But Dobbins argued in a court filing last week that the law requires them to be jailed because they could be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The defendants included the owner of a Colorado anti-aging clinic, Brett W. Branch; the owners of Applied Pharmacy Services, A. Samuel Kelley II and Jason R. Kelley; and Applied's supervising pharmacist, J. Michael Bennett. Each was convicted of conspiracy to distribute steroids to a person younger than 21.
Dobbins wrote that the mandatory-jailing rule does not apply to a fifth defendant, Jodi Silvio, who was convicted of a different steroids offense.
PowerMedica doctor charged 5 years after Deerfield raid.
More than five years after federal agents raided a Deerfield Beach company suspected of selling anti-aging drugs and anabolic steroids without valid prescriptions, an arrest has been made in the investigation.
Dr. Manuel G. Sanguily was charged Thursday with conspiring to unlawfully distribute human growth hormone and steroids while he worked for PowerMedica. The New York physician is accused of rubber-stamping prescriptions for the bodybuilding drugs without conducting physical exams or reviewing medical histories.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration swept into PowerMedica's office at 600 W. Hillsboro Blvd. on Feb. 15, 2005, after federal authorities say the company sold steroids over the Internet to an undercover investigator without a doctor's examination. Agents seized boxes of drugs as well as 16 file cabinets of documents.
Dr. Manuel G. Sanguily was charged Thursday with conspiring to unlawfully distribute human growth hormone and steroids while he worked for PowerMedica. The New York physician is accused of rubber-stamping prescriptions for the bodybuilding drugs without conducting physical exams or reviewing medical histories.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration swept into PowerMedica's office at 600 W. Hillsboro Blvd. on Feb. 15, 2005, after federal authorities say the company sold steroids over the Internet to an undercover investigator without a doctor's examination. Agents seized boxes of drugs as well as 16 file cabinets of documents.
Lawyer in Lakeland man's steroids case asks to withdraw.
A lawyer for a Lakeland man facing federal charges of selling steroids has asked to withdraw from the case, court records show.
Richard "Andy" Thomas pleaded guilty Nov. 10 to possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, a charge that carries a maximum of 5 years in prison.
A sentencing hearing has been set for March 31.
Thomas' lawyer, Mark A. Taylor of Bartow, filed a motion Wednesday seeking to be released from the case.
The motion states Thomas sent a letter to U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. expressing dissatisfaction with Taylor and requesting a court-appointed lawyer.
Court records do not indicate when a hearing on the motion is to take place.
Thomas was arrested May 27 after deputies seized the largest collection of illegal steroids in Polk's history, according to sheriff's officials.
The Sheriff's Office has said Thomas, 36, has claimed to be the largest anabolic steroids dealer in Central Florida.
Richard "Andy" Thomas pleaded guilty Nov. 10 to possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, a charge that carries a maximum of 5 years in prison.
A sentencing hearing has been set for March 31.
Thomas' lawyer, Mark A. Taylor of Bartow, filed a motion Wednesday seeking to be released from the case.
The motion states Thomas sent a letter to U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. expressing dissatisfaction with Taylor and requesting a court-appointed lawyer.
Court records do not indicate when a hearing on the motion is to take place.
Thomas was arrested May 27 after deputies seized the largest collection of illegal steroids in Polk's history, according to sheriff's officials.
The Sheriff's Office has said Thomas, 36, has claimed to be the largest anabolic steroids dealer in Central Florida.
Australia's Mr 'Natural' World goes on anti-HGH crusade.
The first Australian to be crowned the Mr World of natural bodybuilding says sports authorities are in denial if they believe Australia's elite athletes aren't cheating by using human growth hormone.
Ryan Laos, a life-time drug-free bodybuilder, says the expensive HGH, which is available by prescription as an anti-ageing drug - and which actor Sylvester Stallone was caught with at Sydney airport in 2007 - is easily obtainable on the black market and believes claims that it doesn't enhance performance in rugby league are ''a load of rubbish''.
''It would be totally stupid to think that there aren't people in elite sports who have been using HGH for many years,'' Laos said.
AFL last week became the first Australian sporting code to implement blood-testing for HGH.
However, rugby league is yet to follow. It is set to become a tricky issue after Wakefield hooker Terry Newton was banned for two years by England's Rugby Football League after testing positive to HGH, the first such result in any code.
The league's executive chairman, Richard Lewis, said England strongly supported blood testing - the only way to identify HGH - in addition to the range of urine-based testing. But the NRL is still deliberating.
''There are plenty of people who say that [HGH] is not a threat for rugby league,'' NRL spokesman John Brady said. ''Some of our advice is that, by nature of what it does, [HGH] is going to suit an athlete in AFL more than league because it's more aerobic. There are others who say it can't be taken without steroids and if you take it with steroids you'll test positive anyway.''
Brady said the tests were expensive - about $600 each - and the NRL didn't want to spend a lot on low-risk testing at the expense of higher-risk areas.
The reason HGH is so hard to detect is because growth hormones occur naturally.
''So if you find it in a sample the person can say it's just natural,'' said an endocrinologist, associate professor Tony O'Sullivan, from the University of NSW's St George Clinical School.
Hard to detect, but not hard to buy. Laos said that finding hormones was no harder than finding illicit drugs.
''It's available all over the place,'' he said. ''You can ask in a pub and you'll probably get someone carrying steroids or HGH, just like they might have cocaine or ecstasy.''
And it's no cheaper. Laos said the people he knew who use HGH spent about 10 times as much as they would on anabolic steroids, precluding many bodybuilders from using it.
''In other sports there might be people earning a lot of money and they can afford it and they can get away with it,'' Laos said.
As in league or, until now, AFL. And the indications are interesting.
''There's some footy players who will say they've put on eight or 10 kilos in the off-season,'' Laos said. ''You think to yourself, 'Bloody hell, how did you do that?'
''Then you see them with their shirt off and they're lean. They haven't put on fat. I don't want to accuse anyone but for an intermediate or advanced trainer, you can only gain up to three kilos of lean muscle per year. A beginner might put on 10 kilos quickly, but not someone who's been training for a while.''
Richard Ings, chief executive of Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, said the authority had the ability under legislation to test athletes any time anywhere, as a urine test or blood test, and did not need permission from the sport.
''When AFL says they've agreed to testing for these substances, it means that they've agreed to fund it,'' he said. ''What kind of tests the rugby league chooses to fund or not is entirely up to them. It's a difficult drug to test for.''
Another big problem with HGH testing is that it clears the body within a day or two; if testers are going to catch a cheat they need to have intelligence about when the drug is being used so they can catch the person in time.
On Thursday, the authority announced a two-year ban on 2008 International Sport Kickboxing Association welterweight world champion Andrew Keogh for possession and use of HGH. In December 2008, Queensland Police found Keogh in possession of HGH. He pleaded guilty to possessing dangerous drugs on January 21, 2009.
University of New South Wales associate professor Tony O'Sullivan was trying to study the effects of human growth hormone when he fell victim to the drug's black market.
The steroid hormones expert was set to commence a study into growth hormones 15 years ago but the supply never arrived.
"It was only a small amount and it doesn't necessarily mean that it was stolen for use by sportsmen, it could have been used by bodybuilders or whatever,'' O'Sullivan said. ''But I suspect it was stolen by someone who wanted to sell it on the market. That's what happens" he said.
Ryan Laos, a life-time drug-free bodybuilder, says the expensive HGH, which is available by prescription as an anti-ageing drug - and which actor Sylvester Stallone was caught with at Sydney airport in 2007 - is easily obtainable on the black market and believes claims that it doesn't enhance performance in rugby league are ''a load of rubbish''.
''It would be totally stupid to think that there aren't people in elite sports who have been using HGH for many years,'' Laos said.
AFL last week became the first Australian sporting code to implement blood-testing for HGH.
However, rugby league is yet to follow. It is set to become a tricky issue after Wakefield hooker Terry Newton was banned for two years by England's Rugby Football League after testing positive to HGH, the first such result in any code.
The league's executive chairman, Richard Lewis, said England strongly supported blood testing - the only way to identify HGH - in addition to the range of urine-based testing. But the NRL is still deliberating.
''There are plenty of people who say that [HGH] is not a threat for rugby league,'' NRL spokesman John Brady said. ''Some of our advice is that, by nature of what it does, [HGH] is going to suit an athlete in AFL more than league because it's more aerobic. There are others who say it can't be taken without steroids and if you take it with steroids you'll test positive anyway.''
Brady said the tests were expensive - about $600 each - and the NRL didn't want to spend a lot on low-risk testing at the expense of higher-risk areas.
The reason HGH is so hard to detect is because growth hormones occur naturally.
''So if you find it in a sample the person can say it's just natural,'' said an endocrinologist, associate professor Tony O'Sullivan, from the University of NSW's St George Clinical School.
Hard to detect, but not hard to buy. Laos said that finding hormones was no harder than finding illicit drugs.
''It's available all over the place,'' he said. ''You can ask in a pub and you'll probably get someone carrying steroids or HGH, just like they might have cocaine or ecstasy.''
And it's no cheaper. Laos said the people he knew who use HGH spent about 10 times as much as they would on anabolic steroids, precluding many bodybuilders from using it.
''In other sports there might be people earning a lot of money and they can afford it and they can get away with it,'' Laos said.
As in league or, until now, AFL. And the indications are interesting.
''There's some footy players who will say they've put on eight or 10 kilos in the off-season,'' Laos said. ''You think to yourself, 'Bloody hell, how did you do that?'
''Then you see them with their shirt off and they're lean. They haven't put on fat. I don't want to accuse anyone but for an intermediate or advanced trainer, you can only gain up to three kilos of lean muscle per year. A beginner might put on 10 kilos quickly, but not someone who's been training for a while.''
Richard Ings, chief executive of Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, said the authority had the ability under legislation to test athletes any time anywhere, as a urine test or blood test, and did not need permission from the sport.
''When AFL says they've agreed to testing for these substances, it means that they've agreed to fund it,'' he said. ''What kind of tests the rugby league chooses to fund or not is entirely up to them. It's a difficult drug to test for.''
Another big problem with HGH testing is that it clears the body within a day or two; if testers are going to catch a cheat they need to have intelligence about when the drug is being used so they can catch the person in time.
On Thursday, the authority announced a two-year ban on 2008 International Sport Kickboxing Association welterweight world champion Andrew Keogh for possession and use of HGH. In December 2008, Queensland Police found Keogh in possession of HGH. He pleaded guilty to possessing dangerous drugs on January 21, 2009.
University of New South Wales associate professor Tony O'Sullivan was trying to study the effects of human growth hormone when he fell victim to the drug's black market.
The steroid hormones expert was set to commence a study into growth hormones 15 years ago but the supply never arrived.
"It was only a small amount and it doesn't necessarily mean that it was stolen for use by sportsmen, it could have been used by bodybuilders or whatever,'' O'Sullivan said. ''But I suspect it was stolen by someone who wanted to sell it on the market. That's what happens" he said.
U.S. Border Patrol finds large steroid stash.
Authorities are investigating how bundles filled with hundreds of steroid vials became abandoned along the banks of the Rio Grande near Progreso.
U.S. Border Patrol agents told Action 4 News that the unsual seizure was made last week.
Agents were patroling the Rio Grande when they discovered seven bundles.
Investigators opened the bundles and found 466 vials of steroids and other stimulants worth $218,540 dollars inside.
It's not clear how the drugs got there or who put them there.
Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are continuing to investigate the case.
U.S. Border Patrol agents told Action 4 News that the unsual seizure was made last week.
Agents were patroling the Rio Grande when they discovered seven bundles.
Investigators opened the bundles and found 466 vials of steroids and other stimulants worth $218,540 dollars inside.
It's not clear how the drugs got there or who put them there.
Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are continuing to investigate the case.
South African boxer banned for 2 years for steroids.
South African boxer Jared Lovett has been banned for two years after testing positive for steroids.
Lovett tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol on July 11, 2009, after his loss on points to Thomas Oosthuizen in a bout for the IBO Light Heavyweight Youth Belt.
The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport held a hearing on the case last month and announced Lovett's two-year ban on Thursday.
The ban lasts until July 2011.
The 23-year-old Lovett, nicknamed "The Storm", told South African newspaper The Sowetan on Friday that he will take the punishment "on the chin."
Lovett tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol on July 11, 2009, after his loss on points to Thomas Oosthuizen in a bout for the IBO Light Heavyweight Youth Belt.
The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport held a hearing on the case last month and announced Lovett's two-year ban on Thursday.
The ban lasts until July 2011.
The 23-year-old Lovett, nicknamed "The Storm", told South African newspaper The Sowetan on Friday that he will take the punishment "on the chin."
William Llewellyn owner of Body of Science launches new blog.
"Well, it took me long enough. WilliamLlewellyn.com is now active. This is my personal blog, where I will talk about industry news, politics, and most importantly, advancements in the science of human performance enhancement."
World Anti-Doping Agency may ban use of thyroid medications.
Major League Baseball may not have a urine test to detect human growth hormone, but signs that the drug is being used might be lurking right under the players' noses - specifically in their necks, where the thyroid gland is located.
Anti-doping experts have long wondered whether abnormal levels of thyroid hormones can indicate doping. At least one clinical study has linked HGH injections to fluctuations in thyroid hormones, and it's clear that the thyroid hormones T3 and T4 have become popular among bodybuilders - often a reliable indicator of what doping methods are on the horizon for pro sports.
Gary Wadler, an associate professor of medicine at New York University and an adviser to the World Anti-Doping Agency, said the organization periodically considers adding thyroid hormones to the list of substances prohibited in sports abiding by the WADA code, which includes all Olympic sports.
"It is something I will bring up when the WADA board meets again in April," Wadler said.
Wadler said WADA has been reluctant to classify thyroid hormones as performance-enhancing drugs because they are naturally occurring substances. Measuring an athlete's T3 (triiodothyronine) or T4 (thyroxine) levels would likely require collection of a blood sample - and while WADA tests blood, professional sports leagues in the United States do not.
"It is something that is not considered worth testing for, although it is worth keeping up with the science," Wadler said.
New scrutiny of thyroid hormones and their interaction with HGH has come amid the confusing reports on the health status of Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, who either has an overactive thyroid (as the Mets claim) or is perfectly fine (as Reyes himself claimed on Tuesday). Reyes underwent a round of diagnostic tests Tuesday in New York. More tests are forthcoming, and doctors are likely to examine records of blood tests Reyes has undergone earlier in his career.
And while those efforts may reveal Reyes has a natural illness, they also come on the heels of his admission that he received treatments from Anthony Galea, a Toronto doctor who has been charged in Canada with several drug offenses and is under investigation in the U.S. for conspiring to smuggle drugs, including HGH, across the border.
Reyes, like his teammate Carlos Beltran and Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez and golfer Tiger Woods, was treated by Galea.
Dr. Lewis Maharam, past president of the American College of Sports Medicine, says his interest in whether performance-enhancing drugs affect thyroid levels was piqued by the Reyes case.
Theoretically, Maharam said, an athlete could receive an injection of HGH right before a blood test, which might raise the T3 levels. Chronic use might lower the levels, he said, adding that he has no knowledge of the Reyes diagnosis. "The reason we are all concerned is that the people who used performance-enhancing drugs are always ahead of the testers," Maharam said. "That is why everybody is suspicious when these things come up."
The link between HGH and abnormal thyroid hormone levels was made nearly 30 years ago by medical researchers at the University of California/San Francisco. The results of their study, entitled "The Acute Effects of Human Growth Hormone Administration on Thyroid Function in Normal Men," were published in 1988 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
WADA, meanwhile, is also interested in finding out if athletes are using synthetic thyroid hormones in an attempt to enhance performance, according to Wadler. Synthetic T3 and T4 are easily purchased over the counter in Latin America, and Internet sites such as buycytomel.com offer 25-microgram T3 pills to anyone with a credit card.
Shaun Kelley, a weight-loss consultant in Houston with close ties to the bodybuilding community, said bodybuilders swear by such products, using such drugs to get the "cut" look that defines their muscles.
"It's about getting that silhouetted look," Kelley said. "You really want to get that fat layer out so you can see the tendons and the cuts."
Anti-doping experts have long wondered whether abnormal levels of thyroid hormones can indicate doping. At least one clinical study has linked HGH injections to fluctuations in thyroid hormones, and it's clear that the thyroid hormones T3 and T4 have become popular among bodybuilders - often a reliable indicator of what doping methods are on the horizon for pro sports.
Gary Wadler, an associate professor of medicine at New York University and an adviser to the World Anti-Doping Agency, said the organization periodically considers adding thyroid hormones to the list of substances prohibited in sports abiding by the WADA code, which includes all Olympic sports.
"It is something I will bring up when the WADA board meets again in April," Wadler said.
Wadler said WADA has been reluctant to classify thyroid hormones as performance-enhancing drugs because they are naturally occurring substances. Measuring an athlete's T3 (triiodothyronine) or T4 (thyroxine) levels would likely require collection of a blood sample - and while WADA tests blood, professional sports leagues in the United States do not.
"It is something that is not considered worth testing for, although it is worth keeping up with the science," Wadler said.
New scrutiny of thyroid hormones and their interaction with HGH has come amid the confusing reports on the health status of Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, who either has an overactive thyroid (as the Mets claim) or is perfectly fine (as Reyes himself claimed on Tuesday). Reyes underwent a round of diagnostic tests Tuesday in New York. More tests are forthcoming, and doctors are likely to examine records of blood tests Reyes has undergone earlier in his career.
And while those efforts may reveal Reyes has a natural illness, they also come on the heels of his admission that he received treatments from Anthony Galea, a Toronto doctor who has been charged in Canada with several drug offenses and is under investigation in the U.S. for conspiring to smuggle drugs, including HGH, across the border.
Reyes, like his teammate Carlos Beltran and Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez and golfer Tiger Woods, was treated by Galea.
Dr. Lewis Maharam, past president of the American College of Sports Medicine, says his interest in whether performance-enhancing drugs affect thyroid levels was piqued by the Reyes case.
Theoretically, Maharam said, an athlete could receive an injection of HGH right before a blood test, which might raise the T3 levels. Chronic use might lower the levels, he said, adding that he has no knowledge of the Reyes diagnosis. "The reason we are all concerned is that the people who used performance-enhancing drugs are always ahead of the testers," Maharam said. "That is why everybody is suspicious when these things come up."
The link between HGH and abnormal thyroid hormone levels was made nearly 30 years ago by medical researchers at the University of California/San Francisco. The results of their study, entitled "The Acute Effects of Human Growth Hormone Administration on Thyroid Function in Normal Men," were published in 1988 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
WADA, meanwhile, is also interested in finding out if athletes are using synthetic thyroid hormones in an attempt to enhance performance, according to Wadler. Synthetic T3 and T4 are easily purchased over the counter in Latin America, and Internet sites such as buycytomel.com offer 25-microgram T3 pills to anyone with a credit card.
Shaun Kelley, a weight-loss consultant in Houston with close ties to the bodybuilding community, said bodybuilders swear by such products, using such drugs to get the "cut" look that defines their muscles.
"It's about getting that silhouetted look," Kelley said. "You really want to get that fat layer out so you can see the tendons and the cuts."
Drug ban for Australian kickboxing champion
Australia's former welterweight world champion kickboxer Andrew Keogh has been banned for two years for using humane growth hormone (hGH).
Keogh, the 2008 International Sport Kickboxing Association’s welterweight world champion, pleaded guilty to the possession of dangerous drugs in 2009 after Queensland police found hGH at his Brisbane home.
Following an investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), Keogh was hit with a two-year ban from all recognised sports.
Keogh, the 2008 International Sport Kickboxing Association’s welterweight world champion, pleaded guilty to the possession of dangerous drugs in 2009 after Queensland police found hGH at his Brisbane home.
Following an investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), Keogh was hit with a two-year ban from all recognised sports.
Major speed and steroid manufacturing ring busted in Australia.
Police allege the main players in a multi-million dollar mafia-style crime ring have been arrested after raids across NSW and Victoria.
Nine men have been arrested after more than 200 police officers in bullet-proof vests raided 19 properties in NSW and Victoria on Wednesday.
Police said most of the men were related and of Italian descent, forming part of an organised entity working under an hierarchical family structure.
Organised Crime Squad Commander Arthur Katsogiannis told reporters that police had seized millions of dollars worth of drugs, including amphetamines and steroids, as well as a pill press and other drug manufacturing equipment.
Firearms and ammunition were also seized.
The men arrested lived 'very comfortably' and were connected with a number of legitimate businesses, he said.
About 6am (AEDT) on Wednesday, 14 properties in NSW and five in the Victorian city of Mildura were searched, resulting in the arrests of nine men, aged between 27 and 69, in homes in south and southwestern Sydney.
Police said investigations were continuing and a number of people were assisting Victoria Police.
The nine arrested men were expected to be charged later on Wednesday.
Nine men have been arrested after more than 200 police officers in bullet-proof vests raided 19 properties in NSW and Victoria on Wednesday.
Police said most of the men were related and of Italian descent, forming part of an organised entity working under an hierarchical family structure.
Organised Crime Squad Commander Arthur Katsogiannis told reporters that police had seized millions of dollars worth of drugs, including amphetamines and steroids, as well as a pill press and other drug manufacturing equipment.
Firearms and ammunition were also seized.
The men arrested lived 'very comfortably' and were connected with a number of legitimate businesses, he said.
About 6am (AEDT) on Wednesday, 14 properties in NSW and five in the Victorian city of Mildura were searched, resulting in the arrests of nine men, aged between 27 and 69, in homes in south and southwestern Sydney.
Police said investigations were continuing and a number of people were assisting Victoria Police.
The nine arrested men were expected to be charged later on Wednesday.
Kiwi bodybuilder sentenced for steroid import.
The former Queenstown bodybuilder jointly charged with importing steroids into New Zealand has been sentenced in the Waitakere District Court to community work.
Andrew van Lent, 24, appeared before Judge Robert Kerr for sentence on a raft of steroid-related charges yesterday.
He and another man, former Invercargill bodybuilder Marc William Rainbow, were jointly charged with importing 1524 steroids in capsules, pills, powder and liquid form through their business SSIS Pharmaceuticals.
Rainbow is defending his charges on May 10.
van Lent was sentenced to 225 hours' community work, ordered to pay $7000 reparation and an order was made for the forfeiture of all medicines and paraphernalia.
Andrew van Lent, 24, appeared before Judge Robert Kerr for sentence on a raft of steroid-related charges yesterday.
He and another man, former Invercargill bodybuilder Marc William Rainbow, were jointly charged with importing 1524 steroids in capsules, pills, powder and liquid form through their business SSIS Pharmaceuticals.
Rainbow is defending his charges on May 10.
van Lent was sentenced to 225 hours' community work, ordered to pay $7000 reparation and an order was made for the forfeiture of all medicines and paraphernalia.
Former coach admits selling steroids to player.
A former volunteer football coach at Stone Memorial High School in Crossville pleaded guilty Monday for selling steroids to a player.
According to Sam Boevers with the state district attorney's office in Crossville, James Wilson, 29, entered the plea in Cumberland County Criminal Court on a charge of possession of the Schedule 3 drug, Oxymetholone.
He received a suspended six-year sentence, but the case will be expunged from his record if he successfully completes eight years of probation, officials said.
He also is not to be on school grounds as part of the agreement.
Boevers said the incident took place in February 2009, after one of the players had mentioned to Wilson that he wanted to have more muscle.
"Mr. Wilson said, 'I have something that might help you,' and he sold him pills that he said he had taken," Boevers said, reading the case file.
However, the student later became ill and had to be hospitalized, and the pills were later found to contain the anabolic steroid, the Boevers added.
The case was investigated by Mark Rosser of the Crossville Police Department and Tommy Thompson, a prosecutor from outside Cumberland County.
Stone Memorial principal Dr. Janet Brooker and Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Aarona Vanwinkle declined comment, although Vanwinkle said Wilson was not a paid employee of the school system.
According to Sam Boevers with the state district attorney's office in Crossville, James Wilson, 29, entered the plea in Cumberland County Criminal Court on a charge of possession of the Schedule 3 drug, Oxymetholone.
He received a suspended six-year sentence, but the case will be expunged from his record if he successfully completes eight years of probation, officials said.
He also is not to be on school grounds as part of the agreement.
Boevers said the incident took place in February 2009, after one of the players had mentioned to Wilson that he wanted to have more muscle.
"Mr. Wilson said, 'I have something that might help you,' and he sold him pills that he said he had taken," Boevers said, reading the case file.
However, the student later became ill and had to be hospitalized, and the pills were later found to contain the anabolic steroid, the Boevers added.
The case was investigated by Mark Rosser of the Crossville Police Department and Tommy Thompson, a prosecutor from outside Cumberland County.
Stone Memorial principal Dr. Janet Brooker and Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Aarona Vanwinkle declined comment, although Vanwinkle said Wilson was not a paid employee of the school system.
Jesse Haggard pleads guilty to drug, money laundering charges in steroid ring.
The last defendant in a 12-person indictment alleging a Mobile-based steroids conspiracy is pleading guilty.
Attorneys for Jesse S. Haggard filed papers in U.S. District Court Monday indicating that he will plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors are expected to recommend about a year and a half incarceration.
The 32-year-old was scheduled to go to trial in April. According to a written plea agreement, Haggard admitted prescribing multiple anabolic steroids to patients who didn't need them.
Haggard was among 12 people indicted in 2008.
Attorneys for Jesse S. Haggard filed papers in U.S. District Court Monday indicating that he will plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors are expected to recommend about a year and a half incarceration.
The 32-year-old was scheduled to go to trial in April. According to a written plea agreement, Haggard admitted prescribing multiple anabolic steroids to patients who didn't need them.
Haggard was among 12 people indicted in 2008.
Former South Bend cop pleads guilty to steroid charges.
A former South Bend police officer arrested in a drug raid Oct. 21 at his home in Edwardsburg faces 15 years in prison when he’s sentenced next month.
Tony Macik, 39, was convicted yesterday in Cass County on felony steroid charges, according to a press release from Prosecutor Victor Fitz.
Macik ordered and received approximately 500 steroid pills from Naur, Poland. He made a no-contest plea deal with prosecutors, which included the 15-year felony of possession with intent to deliver as well as two four-year felonies for possession of steroids.
As part of the deal, various weapons and firearms charges were dismissed. Macik is scheduled for sentencing April 16th.
Prosecutors say Tony Macik bought about 500 steroid pills from Poland. He now faces up to 23 years behind bars.
Silly anti-steroid propanganda story from Wales.
STEROID use is so rife in Wales, users are outnumbering junkies in using needle-exchange programmes, drug experts have warned.
Needle-exchange figures reveal that the numbers of users on body-enhancing drugs using the services has rocketed to 80% of the total in some areas.
Cheap, often fake, internet steroids are flooding the market as more and more young Welsh men attempt to take a quick, easy path towards a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Fake steroids have been known to include baby oil and drugs normally intended for bulking-up cattle.
They have also been known to cause a raft of side-effects including impotence, hair loss and the growth of “moobs” – man-breasts.
Mike Mallett of the Newport needle exchange – where nearly two-thirds of walk-in clients are steroid-users – warned that the trend was growing and that people now had “no difficulty” getting hold of dangerous drugs from the internet and dealers.
He said: “We’ve seen a steady year-on-year increase in the number of people using steroids.
“The numbers are creeping up and around 60% of our client-base here are steroid users. A large proportion of them are young males aged 18 or 19 who want to go on steroids before they have done any weight training, which can lead to long-term health problems.”
Mr Mallett warned that with more steroid-users sharing needles there was a “huge” risk of contracting blood-borne viruses like HIV and hepatitis.
He said: “Many users prefer to think that they are not at risk from blood-borne viruses because they aren’t ‘junkies’ – but you get hepatitis from the injection technique, not from the drug itself.
“That hasn’t sunk in with users. There have been many incidents of people sharing needles and syringes, but they say ‘we’re using steroids, not gear’, so are at serious risk.
“There’s also ‘roid rage’ which is definitely part of the problem – guys want to vent that level of aggression in the gym to work harder and longer and pump bigger and heavier weights, but it may make those that are already pre-disposed to violence more aggressive and possibly spill out in a domestic situation.
“It’s not going to turn Mother Teresa into Ivan the Terrible, but there are links between steroid abuse and domestic violence.”
Peter Hinkin, a substance misuse worker at the Bridgend-based drugs charity Ogwr DASH, said that they estimated that 80% of service users were steroid-users.
He said: “Looking at people in society, they are taking more care of themselves, more people going to gyms.
“Many that come in to our needle exchange, are those that collect needles for others and do a bulk collection. There’s no record for all these people, so even 80% might not be a true reflection.
“Younger people do feel more stigmatised and feel intimidated being seen walking through the door of a drug agency – there is a big danger that those practising steroid use don’t see themselves as drug-users.”
The claims come in a week when ex-policeman Justin Weaver was jailed for running a steroid-dealing ring from a base in Swansea.
Weaver ran the ring for bodybuilders in South Wales while working as a Metropolitan police officer in London.
He used his Swansea-based civilian police worker ex-girlfriend Amanda Griffin as a way of checking how police were monitoring his activities.
Steroid expert Professor Bruce Davies from the University of Glamorgan, has conducted research that shows that a staggering 53% of internet steroids were shown to be fake – with teenage “bigorexics”, obsessed with building a beefcake body, often having no idea what they are taking.
He said that there was “no question” that the problem had moved from athletes and bodybuilders to “sophisticated” recreational users who were willing to take cocktails of drugs to pump up their bodies.
He said: “I never cease to be amazed at the sophisticated nature of these young guys’ ‘polypharmacies’. They have to counteract the effects of different steroids.
“You have these young guys taking Tamoxifen – a breast cancer drug – to counter the effect of developing boobs from steroids and taking other female hormones to counteract sexual problems.
“The irony is that they can lose their libido – there are these manly-looking people that can’t do the business.
“For the NHS, it’s a ticking timebomb – these ‘bigorexics’ are looking to be more powerful and are never satisfied.”
‘Every man and his dog in the Valleys is on steroids’
BODYBUILDER Gary Biddiscombe 52, told Wales on Sunday that young boys were trying to emulate the Hollywood body without having to do the work.
He said: “We are living in a McDonald’s culture where young guys are not prepared to work hard and eat well to get in condition.
Most people who buy steroids are not committing a criminal act, most have a job and look at is as a dietary regime rather than drug abuse.
“It is a growing problem – the male version of the media size-zero syndrome, where guys are desperate to look buff, toned, tanned and have big muscles.
“It is just the tip of the iceberg – guys are on the steroids and their mates will get their needles, begin injecting and the whole procedure that you need to go through – leading to abscesses, cellulitis and other medical problems on top of that.”
Mr Biddiscombe – who is now part of a Newport Council committee looking at the problem of steroid use – said that it was a national problem which has an epicentre in the south.
He said: “The problem is definitely worse in the Valleys – every man and his dog is on steroids and more women as well.
“It seems to be a Valleys syndrome rather than a city one. There would have to be a very high percentage, it is far more prevalent than people realise.
“It is growing outside of the bodybuilder culture, no two ways about it. But there is no acknowledgement of that.
“In football and rugby teams there are guys with 16 or 17st of muscle weight – without taking some enhancements is that possible?
“The medical profession and the Government must acknowledge that there is a problem. There is not much of a criminal element attached to using steroids, but the cost to the health service will only increase.”
Needle-exchange figures reveal that the numbers of users on body-enhancing drugs using the services has rocketed to 80% of the total in some areas.
Cheap, often fake, internet steroids are flooding the market as more and more young Welsh men attempt to take a quick, easy path towards a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Fake steroids have been known to include baby oil and drugs normally intended for bulking-up cattle.
They have also been known to cause a raft of side-effects including impotence, hair loss and the growth of “moobs” – man-breasts.
Mike Mallett of the Newport needle exchange – where nearly two-thirds of walk-in clients are steroid-users – warned that the trend was growing and that people now had “no difficulty” getting hold of dangerous drugs from the internet and dealers.
He said: “We’ve seen a steady year-on-year increase in the number of people using steroids.
“The numbers are creeping up and around 60% of our client-base here are steroid users. A large proportion of them are young males aged 18 or 19 who want to go on steroids before they have done any weight training, which can lead to long-term health problems.”
Mr Mallett warned that with more steroid-users sharing needles there was a “huge” risk of contracting blood-borne viruses like HIV and hepatitis.
He said: “Many users prefer to think that they are not at risk from blood-borne viruses because they aren’t ‘junkies’ – but you get hepatitis from the injection technique, not from the drug itself.
“That hasn’t sunk in with users. There have been many incidents of people sharing needles and syringes, but they say ‘we’re using steroids, not gear’, so are at serious risk.
“There’s also ‘roid rage’ which is definitely part of the problem – guys want to vent that level of aggression in the gym to work harder and longer and pump bigger and heavier weights, but it may make those that are already pre-disposed to violence more aggressive and possibly spill out in a domestic situation.
“It’s not going to turn Mother Teresa into Ivan the Terrible, but there are links between steroid abuse and domestic violence.”
Peter Hinkin, a substance misuse worker at the Bridgend-based drugs charity Ogwr DASH, said that they estimated that 80% of service users were steroid-users.
He said: “Looking at people in society, they are taking more care of themselves, more people going to gyms.
“Many that come in to our needle exchange, are those that collect needles for others and do a bulk collection. There’s no record for all these people, so even 80% might not be a true reflection.
“Younger people do feel more stigmatised and feel intimidated being seen walking through the door of a drug agency – there is a big danger that those practising steroid use don’t see themselves as drug-users.”
The claims come in a week when ex-policeman Justin Weaver was jailed for running a steroid-dealing ring from a base in Swansea.
Weaver ran the ring for bodybuilders in South Wales while working as a Metropolitan police officer in London.
He used his Swansea-based civilian police worker ex-girlfriend Amanda Griffin as a way of checking how police were monitoring his activities.
Steroid expert Professor Bruce Davies from the University of Glamorgan, has conducted research that shows that a staggering 53% of internet steroids were shown to be fake – with teenage “bigorexics”, obsessed with building a beefcake body, often having no idea what they are taking.
He said that there was “no question” that the problem had moved from athletes and bodybuilders to “sophisticated” recreational users who were willing to take cocktails of drugs to pump up their bodies.
He said: “I never cease to be amazed at the sophisticated nature of these young guys’ ‘polypharmacies’. They have to counteract the effects of different steroids.
“You have these young guys taking Tamoxifen – a breast cancer drug – to counter the effect of developing boobs from steroids and taking other female hormones to counteract sexual problems.
“The irony is that they can lose their libido – there are these manly-looking people that can’t do the business.
“For the NHS, it’s a ticking timebomb – these ‘bigorexics’ are looking to be more powerful and are never satisfied.”
‘Every man and his dog in the Valleys is on steroids’
BODYBUILDER Gary Biddiscombe 52, told Wales on Sunday that young boys were trying to emulate the Hollywood body without having to do the work.
He said: “We are living in a McDonald’s culture where young guys are not prepared to work hard and eat well to get in condition.
Most people who buy steroids are not committing a criminal act, most have a job and look at is as a dietary regime rather than drug abuse.
“It is a growing problem – the male version of the media size-zero syndrome, where guys are desperate to look buff, toned, tanned and have big muscles.
“It is just the tip of the iceberg – guys are on the steroids and their mates will get their needles, begin injecting and the whole procedure that you need to go through – leading to abscesses, cellulitis and other medical problems on top of that.”
Mr Biddiscombe – who is now part of a Newport Council committee looking at the problem of steroid use – said that it was a national problem which has an epicentre in the south.
He said: “The problem is definitely worse in the Valleys – every man and his dog is on steroids and more women as well.
“It seems to be a Valleys syndrome rather than a city one. There would have to be a very high percentage, it is far more prevalent than people realise.
“It is growing outside of the bodybuilder culture, no two ways about it. But there is no acknowledgement of that.
“In football and rugby teams there are guys with 16 or 17st of muscle weight – without taking some enhancements is that possible?
“The medical profession and the Government must acknowledge that there is a problem. There is not much of a criminal element attached to using steroids, but the cost to the health service will only increase.”
Belgian sprinter Bangura provisionally suspended after positive doping result.
Belgian sprinter Fatmata Bangura will miss next weekend's world indoor championships after she was provisionally suspended because of a positive doping test.
Sierra Leone-born Bangura was tested at her first Belgian championships last month and anti-doping officials found traces of the steroids clembuterol and stanozolol.
Belgian athletics official Tille Scheerlinck told Belgian media that the initial positive test triggered the suspension which will keep her from the three-day championships which open in Doha, Qatar, next Friday.
Bangura had only been approved by the IAAF to run for Belgium one week ago.
Sierra Leone-born Bangura was tested at her first Belgian championships last month and anti-doping officials found traces of the steroids clembuterol and stanozolol.
Belgian athletics official Tille Scheerlinck told Belgian media that the initial positive test triggered the suspension which will keep her from the three-day championships which open in Doha, Qatar, next Friday.
Bangura had only been approved by the IAAF to run for Belgium one week ago.
Florida pain clinics owned by the George brothers raided but so far no charges filed.
Chris and Jeff George drove flashy cars, amassed property and made multi-million-dollar deals, radiating wealth and success while clients of their pain clinics got high and, in some cases, died.
Supporting the twin brothers' lavish lifestyle was a stream of dirty cash from drug traffickers who routed painkillers to Kentucky, Ohio and South Carolina, federal prosecutors allege in documents filed in U.S. District Court.
So successful were their ventures that Chris George piled up about $40 million in assets, money he wanted laundered in 2009, prosecutors said. One night last year, they added, an employee of American Pain left the business carrying $50,000 cash in a backpack, the proceeds from a single day's sales.
By that point, the 29-year-old twins had evolved from brash, rambunctious sons of a prominent Florida home builder into the masterminds behind some of the most brazen and flagrant pain clinics in South Florida.
As they made their way in the pain management industry, the twins, who often were at odds with one another, did business with a colorful cast of characters — including the investor ex-husband of a notorious Palm Beach socialite and a captain of the Colombo crime family, state and county records show.
The FBI and IRS, along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and other law-enforcement agencies, spent the past 14 months investigating allegations that the George brothers illegally sold drugs and laundered money, prosecutors said.
Although federal agents on Wednesday raided three of their clinics in Palm Beach County, the brothers on Saturday had yet to be charged with a crime. They hired high-powered West Palm Beach attorney James Eisenberg.
That the twins, who each have criminal records but no medical background, were able to open pain clinics in the first place highlights gaping loopholes in Florida law.
Authorities say an utter lack of regulation has turned the Sunshine State into a fantasy land for junkies and drug dealers from Key West to Knoxville, Tenn., and beyond.
The result has been a multimillion-dollar cash bonanza for crooked clinic owners and doctors who write prescriptions with assembly-line efficiency, according to investigators.
In response, Gov. Charlie Crist last year signed a bill that allows the government to create a database to monitor prescriptions for powerful and addictive drugs like oxycodone and Xanax.
This year, state lawmakers including Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, and Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, filed bills that would target clinic operators and doctors who are getting rich selling drugs to all comers. Investigators say these operators are making bank.
A single clinic run by the George twins — records show they opened at least five in South Florida since 2008 — netted more than $14 million last year alone, prosecutors said.
As many as 250 people a day streamed in to see five doctors who were paid based on how many patients they treated, prosecutors said. They said one physician, Cynthia Cadet, earned as much as $44,850 a week working at American Pain, a cash-only operation, in 2009.
Each of the five doctors ordered roughly half a million oxycodone tablets last year, prosecutors said.
Despite being named in a federal complaint, each physician still holds a clear and active license to practice medicine in Florida, records show.
The doctors walked away with only a fraction of the total haul, prosecutors said.
At Chris George's house in Wellington's upscale Talavera neighborhood, security cameras scanned the grounds. Inside, walls were hung with jumbo TVs. The place reminded one deputy who searched it Wednesday of a set in the movie Scarface.
Jeff George spent his money on expensive toys, splurging on boats and a monster truck he used to antagonize his neighbors. He would weave in and out of traffic on Okeechobee Boulevard in his pearl metallic yellow Lamborghini Murcielago, on the lookout for upstart clinics encroaching on his territory.
When West Palm Medical Center opened in January, despite a pain clinic moratorium enacted by county commissioners a month earlier, Jeff George called code enforcement officers and got the new business shut down, at least temporarily.
Sons of prominent builder John Paul George, the George brothers have operated at the edge of the law for years, sheriff's investigators said.
In 2002, when demand for black market steroids was soaring, a sheriff's agent caught Chris George picking up a package of the illegal supplements ordered from Mexico. He eventually pleaded guilty to a felony drug possession charge.
Years later, he ventured into the pain clinic business, where his felony conviction was no obstacle. No state agency regulated the cash-only businesses, and no laws prevented non-doctors from opening medical offices, hiring physicians and then selling highly addictive painkillers by the fistful.
By 2008, the brothers were running pain management centers in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Between setting up clinics, Jeff George branched in other directions.
In early 2008, he planned to open a massage parlor in West Palm Beach when a broker introduced him to investor Harald Dude, said Dude's attorney, Marshall Rosenbach.
Dude, husband of Roxanne Pulitzer until the couple divorced in 2001, was embroiled in an ugly legal battle over a West Palm Beach strip club, and he jumped at the chance to lease space to the young businessman.
Fighting Dude for ownership of Dreamgirls, formerly Club Diamonds, was Thomas Farese, a captain in the Colombo crime family. Farese was convicted in 1998 of using the club to launder money. He's been wrangling over the North Congress Avenue business ever since.
Jeff George's massage parlor, Executive Touch, never got off the ground, but soon after the failed venture he approached Dude about leasing the contested strip club.
In February, Dude, weary of Farese, struck a deal to sell an interest in the company that owned the shopping center to Jeff George, Rosenbach said. As co-owners of the property, Jeff George and his father now are moving to evict Farese. The case still is pending in Circuit Court. Reached Friday, Farese declined to comment.
Besides the strip club, businesses that now lease space from Jeff George include a sex shop and a dealer in hydroponics equipment, records show.
Now, as federal agents build a case against the brothers, freezing their bank accounts and seizing their assets, their days of excess and entitlement could be over.
Eisenberg, their attorney, said Friday he's ready to defend his clients against federal charges.
"These guys ran what they felt was a legitimate business," Eisenberg said. "They had doctors, and the doctors were saying everything's OK."
He said the twins' bluster isn't evidence of wrongdoing.
"These guys may have talked a big game," he said, "but they really didn't do anything illegal."
Supporting the twin brothers' lavish lifestyle was a stream of dirty cash from drug traffickers who routed painkillers to Kentucky, Ohio and South Carolina, federal prosecutors allege in documents filed in U.S. District Court.
So successful were their ventures that Chris George piled up about $40 million in assets, money he wanted laundered in 2009, prosecutors said. One night last year, they added, an employee of American Pain left the business carrying $50,000 cash in a backpack, the proceeds from a single day's sales.
By that point, the 29-year-old twins had evolved from brash, rambunctious sons of a prominent Florida home builder into the masterminds behind some of the most brazen and flagrant pain clinics in South Florida.
As they made their way in the pain management industry, the twins, who often were at odds with one another, did business with a colorful cast of characters — including the investor ex-husband of a notorious Palm Beach socialite and a captain of the Colombo crime family, state and county records show.
The FBI and IRS, along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and other law-enforcement agencies, spent the past 14 months investigating allegations that the George brothers illegally sold drugs and laundered money, prosecutors said.
Although federal agents on Wednesday raided three of their clinics in Palm Beach County, the brothers on Saturday had yet to be charged with a crime. They hired high-powered West Palm Beach attorney James Eisenberg.
That the twins, who each have criminal records but no medical background, were able to open pain clinics in the first place highlights gaping loopholes in Florida law.
Authorities say an utter lack of regulation has turned the Sunshine State into a fantasy land for junkies and drug dealers from Key West to Knoxville, Tenn., and beyond.
The result has been a multimillion-dollar cash bonanza for crooked clinic owners and doctors who write prescriptions with assembly-line efficiency, according to investigators.
In response, Gov. Charlie Crist last year signed a bill that allows the government to create a database to monitor prescriptions for powerful and addictive drugs like oxycodone and Xanax.
This year, state lawmakers including Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, and Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, filed bills that would target clinic operators and doctors who are getting rich selling drugs to all comers. Investigators say these operators are making bank.
A single clinic run by the George twins — records show they opened at least five in South Florida since 2008 — netted more than $14 million last year alone, prosecutors said.
As many as 250 people a day streamed in to see five doctors who were paid based on how many patients they treated, prosecutors said. They said one physician, Cynthia Cadet, earned as much as $44,850 a week working at American Pain, a cash-only operation, in 2009.
Each of the five doctors ordered roughly half a million oxycodone tablets last year, prosecutors said.
Despite being named in a federal complaint, each physician still holds a clear and active license to practice medicine in Florida, records show.
The doctors walked away with only a fraction of the total haul, prosecutors said.
At Chris George's house in Wellington's upscale Talavera neighborhood, security cameras scanned the grounds. Inside, walls were hung with jumbo TVs. The place reminded one deputy who searched it Wednesday of a set in the movie Scarface.
Jeff George spent his money on expensive toys, splurging on boats and a monster truck he used to antagonize his neighbors. He would weave in and out of traffic on Okeechobee Boulevard in his pearl metallic yellow Lamborghini Murcielago, on the lookout for upstart clinics encroaching on his territory.
When West Palm Medical Center opened in January, despite a pain clinic moratorium enacted by county commissioners a month earlier, Jeff George called code enforcement officers and got the new business shut down, at least temporarily.
Sons of prominent builder John Paul George, the George brothers have operated at the edge of the law for years, sheriff's investigators said.
In 2002, when demand for black market steroids was soaring, a sheriff's agent caught Chris George picking up a package of the illegal supplements ordered from Mexico. He eventually pleaded guilty to a felony drug possession charge.
Years later, he ventured into the pain clinic business, where his felony conviction was no obstacle. No state agency regulated the cash-only businesses, and no laws prevented non-doctors from opening medical offices, hiring physicians and then selling highly addictive painkillers by the fistful.
By 2008, the brothers were running pain management centers in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Between setting up clinics, Jeff George branched in other directions.
In early 2008, he planned to open a massage parlor in West Palm Beach when a broker introduced him to investor Harald Dude, said Dude's attorney, Marshall Rosenbach.
Dude, husband of Roxanne Pulitzer until the couple divorced in 2001, was embroiled in an ugly legal battle over a West Palm Beach strip club, and he jumped at the chance to lease space to the young businessman.
Fighting Dude for ownership of Dreamgirls, formerly Club Diamonds, was Thomas Farese, a captain in the Colombo crime family. Farese was convicted in 1998 of using the club to launder money. He's been wrangling over the North Congress Avenue business ever since.
Jeff George's massage parlor, Executive Touch, never got off the ground, but soon after the failed venture he approached Dude about leasing the contested strip club.
In February, Dude, weary of Farese, struck a deal to sell an interest in the company that owned the shopping center to Jeff George, Rosenbach said. As co-owners of the property, Jeff George and his father now are moving to evict Farese. The case still is pending in Circuit Court. Reached Friday, Farese declined to comment.
Besides the strip club, businesses that now lease space from Jeff George include a sex shop and a dealer in hydroponics equipment, records show.
Now, as federal agents build a case against the brothers, freezing their bank accounts and seizing their assets, their days of excess and entitlement could be over.
Eisenberg, their attorney, said Friday he's ready to defend his clients against federal charges.
"These guys ran what they felt was a legitimate business," Eisenberg said. "They had doctors, and the doctors were saying everything's OK."
He said the twins' bluster isn't evidence of wrongdoing.
"These guys may have talked a big game," he said, "but they really didn't do anything illegal."
British hurdler Callum Priestley accused of Clenbuterol use.
British hurdler Callum Priestley was Friday provisionally suspended from all competition and UK Athletics' World Class Performance Programme after testing positive for the banned drug clenbuterol.
The suspension follows an out-of-competition test in South Africa in January and Priestley, 21, faces a two-year ban if found guilty of doping.
Clenbuterol is sometimes prescribed to asthma patients to help them with their breathing but can also be used to facilitate more intensive training in the manner of anabolic steroids and has the advantage of clearing the body faster.
UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos said: "I am hugely disappointed that there has been a failed test. UKA continues to give 100 percent support to the work of UK Anti Doping and we maintain our full commitment to drug-free sport."
The suspension follows an out-of-competition test in South Africa in January and Priestley, 21, faces a two-year ban if found guilty of doping.
Clenbuterol is sometimes prescribed to asthma patients to help them with their breathing but can also be used to facilitate more intensive training in the manner of anabolic steroids and has the advantage of clearing the body faster.
UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos said: "I am hugely disappointed that there has been a failed test. UKA continues to give 100 percent support to the work of UK Anti Doping and we maintain our full commitment to drug-free sport."
Hushmail helping LE again ?
A fellow victim of the recent Hushmail account closures has claimed ( in a recent Body Of Science forum post ) to have received the following response from them concerning his account :-
"Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your phone call and email.
Our Abuse Team is currently cooperating with RCMP "E" Division and
Interpol.
We regret to inform you that your account has been terminated following
investigation by our Abuse Team into connection with the supply or
distribution of scheduled drugs and misuse of Hush communications.
For additional information, please refer to:
https://www.hushmail.com/terms/premium
"If there is any indication that you are using your account for illegal
activity, your account will be terminated immediately and without
notice. Activities that are absolutely not tolerated include the
purchase or sale of substances that are illegal in many jurisdictions."
Sincerely,
Network Operations
Hush Communications"
"Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your phone call and email.
Our Abuse Team is currently cooperating with RCMP "E" Division and
Interpol.
We regret to inform you that your account has been terminated following
investigation by our Abuse Team into connection with the supply or
distribution of scheduled drugs and misuse of Hush communications.
For additional information, please refer to:
https://www.hushmail.com/terms/premium
"If there is any indication that you are using your account for illegal
activity, your account will be terminated immediately and without
notice. Activities that are absolutely not tolerated include the
purchase or sale of substances that are illegal in many jurisdictions."
Sincerely,
Network Operations
Hush Communications"
Trial begins in case of Staten Island doctor accused in steroid probe.
A brilliant physician who saved lives, or just a drug pusher, whose greed lead to the death of one of his patients?
That's for a jury to decide, as the trial begins in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn today of a Staten Island doctor charged with contributing to the death of an Island body builder, and selling prescriptions in a national steroid ring that included police officers and athletes.
Dr. Richard Lucente, 38, faces 5 and a half years on each of the 76 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance. He was also charged with 76 public health violations and one count of reckless endangerment for his alleged responsibility in the death of 39-year-old Westerleigh man Joseph Baglio.
Those counts are likely to be reduced by the time the trial is concluded, said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, who is trying the case.
He pleaded not guilty in February 2009.
Dr. Lucente's attorney, John Meringolo, believes it is the first case in which a doctor has been charged in the death of a patient for prescribing steroids.
Meringolo said the evidence against his client is not even strong enough to merit a defense.
"They have no case," he said.
Prosecutors believe otherwise.
Dr. Lucente began treating Baglio in his Dongan Hills office in June 2005, just months after Baglio received a heart transplant. His own heart had failed due to steroid abuse -- and he was taking several medications, including one to control high blood pressure, according to a medical document included in the court papers.
For about $500 per month, Dr. Lucente put Baglio in his "wellness program," treating him with more anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH).
Baglio died of heart failure less than two years later.
Dr. Lucente's connection to a national illegal steroids ring was first reported in the Advance in October 2007, shortly after federal authorities raided Lowen's Drug Store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The authorities seized $8 million worth of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids and hundreds of records of prescriptions written by Dr. Lucente, sources told the Advance.
Lowen's co-owner John Rossi, who was named in former Sen. George Mitchell's report on drug use in baseball, killed himself three months later.
All told, Dr. Lucente netted $530,000 from 220 clients between 2005 and 2007, prosecutors allege.
That's for a jury to decide, as the trial begins in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn today of a Staten Island doctor charged with contributing to the death of an Island body builder, and selling prescriptions in a national steroid ring that included police officers and athletes.
Dr. Richard Lucente, 38, faces 5 and a half years on each of the 76 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance. He was also charged with 76 public health violations and one count of reckless endangerment for his alleged responsibility in the death of 39-year-old Westerleigh man Joseph Baglio.
Those counts are likely to be reduced by the time the trial is concluded, said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, who is trying the case.
He pleaded not guilty in February 2009.
Dr. Lucente's attorney, John Meringolo, believes it is the first case in which a doctor has been charged in the death of a patient for prescribing steroids.
Meringolo said the evidence against his client is not even strong enough to merit a defense.
"They have no case," he said.
Prosecutors believe otherwise.
Dr. Lucente began treating Baglio in his Dongan Hills office in June 2005, just months after Baglio received a heart transplant. His own heart had failed due to steroid abuse -- and he was taking several medications, including one to control high blood pressure, according to a medical document included in the court papers.
For about $500 per month, Dr. Lucente put Baglio in his "wellness program," treating him with more anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH).
Baglio died of heart failure less than two years later.
Dr. Lucente's connection to a national illegal steroids ring was first reported in the Advance in October 2007, shortly after federal authorities raided Lowen's Drug Store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The authorities seized $8 million worth of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids and hundreds of records of prescriptions written by Dr. Lucente, sources told the Advance.
Lowen's co-owner John Rossi, who was named in former Sen. George Mitchell's report on drug use in baseball, killed himself three months later.
All told, Dr. Lucente netted $530,000 from 220 clients between 2005 and 2007, prosecutors allege.
Ex-policemen jailed for steroid supply via internet in Wales, UK.
A drug dealing police officer who got his ex-girlfriend to keep tabs on any investigation into him has been jailed for 16 months.
Justin Weaver, 28, who served with the Metropolitan Police, supplied steroids to other bodybuilders around Swansea.
Amanda Griffin, 29, who worked for South Wales Police, was given a 24-week suspended term at Swansea Crown Court
Ambulance worker Alan Dutton was also jailed for 10 months for supplying the class C drugs.
Three other bodybuilders were given suspended prison sentences for supplying steroids.
They were ordered to do unpaid work ranging from 150 to 200 hours.
Weaver, of the Birchgrove area of Swansea, admitted supplying class C drugs, wilful misconduct in public office and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Griffin, of Swansea, admitted misconduct and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
As well as the suspended prison sentence she was placed under supervision and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. Dutton, who also lived in the Birchgrove area, pleaded guilty.
Jim Davis, prosecuting, told the court that police found £6,500 worth of steroids during a raid on homes and a shop around the city.
The investigation led to a group of bodybuilders, including Weaver, who were supplying each other with drugs obtained by Dutton.
Meanwhile, Griffin was using her job as a call handler at Swansea central police station to access computers to discover whether police were closing in on her former boyfriend.
Weaver, who served in the Met in London for six years before being arrested, and Griffin, had already resigned from their jobs, the court heard.
Further info from another news report :-
AN EX-POLICEMAN and a former paramedic were jailed today for their part in a conspiracy to supply steroids to bodybuilders in South Wales.
Justin Weaver, a 27-year-old former Metropolitan Police officer persuaded his ex-girlfriend Amanda Griffin, 29, a civilian worker at Swansea Central Police station, to check whether there was any drugs squad intelligence on him.
Father-of-two Alan Dutton, 37, a former emergency medical technician with the Wales Ambulance Service, placed a steroids “price list” on the internet.
And Swansea Crown Court yesterday that 51-year-old John Griffiths allowed his shop – TBS Nutrition of Oxford Street, Swansea – to be used for selling steroid drugs.
Jim Davis, prosecuting, said Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police drugs squad teams carried out raids in February 2008 on homes and businesses in Swansea including TBS Nutrition.
They found steroids and diazepam tablets, which one police estimate initially put at £37,000.
The value of the drugs was later downgraded to between £5,000 and £7,000.
Justin Weaver, 28, who served with the Metropolitan Police, supplied steroids to other bodybuilders around Swansea.
Amanda Griffin, 29, who worked for South Wales Police, was given a 24-week suspended term at Swansea Crown Court
Ambulance worker Alan Dutton was also jailed for 10 months for supplying the class C drugs.
Three other bodybuilders were given suspended prison sentences for supplying steroids.
They were ordered to do unpaid work ranging from 150 to 200 hours.
Weaver, of the Birchgrove area of Swansea, admitted supplying class C drugs, wilful misconduct in public office and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Griffin, of Swansea, admitted misconduct and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
As well as the suspended prison sentence she was placed under supervision and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. Dutton, who also lived in the Birchgrove area, pleaded guilty.
Jim Davis, prosecuting, told the court that police found £6,500 worth of steroids during a raid on homes and a shop around the city.
The investigation led to a group of bodybuilders, including Weaver, who were supplying each other with drugs obtained by Dutton.
Meanwhile, Griffin was using her job as a call handler at Swansea central police station to access computers to discover whether police were closing in on her former boyfriend.
Weaver, who served in the Met in London for six years before being arrested, and Griffin, had already resigned from their jobs, the court heard.
Further info from another news report :-
AN EX-POLICEMAN and a former paramedic were jailed today for their part in a conspiracy to supply steroids to bodybuilders in South Wales.
Justin Weaver, a 27-year-old former Metropolitan Police officer persuaded his ex-girlfriend Amanda Griffin, 29, a civilian worker at Swansea Central Police station, to check whether there was any drugs squad intelligence on him.
Father-of-two Alan Dutton, 37, a former emergency medical technician with the Wales Ambulance Service, placed a steroids “price list” on the internet.
And Swansea Crown Court yesterday that 51-year-old John Griffiths allowed his shop – TBS Nutrition of Oxford Street, Swansea – to be used for selling steroid drugs.
Jim Davis, prosecuting, said Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police drugs squad teams carried out raids in February 2008 on homes and businesses in Swansea including TBS Nutrition.
They found steroids and diazepam tablets, which one police estimate initially put at £37,000.
The value of the drugs was later downgraded to between £5,000 and £7,000.
Weird steroid fight club story.
The Laurel Police Department is continuing to work a case involving fighting among juveniles and young adults that resulted in at least one people being taken into custody.
LPD Narcotics Agents Michael Tolbert and Stephen Bullock reported that a local business owner was arrested and taken into custody following the execution of a search warrant at his Highway 15/16th Avenue business.
According to officials, Adam Doherty, 30, of Laurel, formerly of Waynesboro, was arrested at his business, Atom’s Arcade and Gaming, after several months of investigation by Laurel narcotic agents.
“We have been working this case involving a local business owner having UFC-style (Ultimate Fighting Championship-style) mixed martial arts fights in a gaming facility,” Tolbert said. “After about five months of investigations, we executed a search warrant at 2505 Highway 15 North about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.”
Tolbert said officers executed the search warrant of the business and Doherty was taken into custody.
Officials said public information assisted officers with this case.
“We started hearing about fights back in September and started working the case,” Tolbert said. “After numerous calls from angry parents, we were able to get some details.”
According to officials, Doherty was allegedly allowing juveniles to participate in the fighting.
During the search of the business, Tolbert said, officers found a large quantity of the injectable-type steroids.
Officials said because of the items seized in the incident, Doherty was charged with one count of possession of steroids, a Schedule 3 Controlled substance, and one count of failure to obtain a license for mixed martial arts.
According to city records, Doherty was issued a business license for the arcade business on July 22, 2009.
“In order for him to be able to conduct those fights, there are certain criteria he’d have to meet. He would also have to obtain a license from the Mississippi Athletic Commission, and he didn’t have that license,” Tolbert explained. “However, with his arcade business, it appears that he was operating it legally. He had pool tables and arcade games.
“It was a legitimate business up front,” he added. “What he was doing in the back is what got him in trouble. ... He was holding fights or allowing people to fight without proper license.”
Officials said the investigation of this case “was complicated.”
“A lot of leg work and phone calls had to be made,” Tolbert said. “He was holding fights just about every night.”
LPD Narcotics Agents Michael Tolbert and Stephen Bullock reported that a local business owner was arrested and taken into custody following the execution of a search warrant at his Highway 15/16th Avenue business.
According to officials, Adam Doherty, 30, of Laurel, formerly of Waynesboro, was arrested at his business, Atom’s Arcade and Gaming, after several months of investigation by Laurel narcotic agents.
“We have been working this case involving a local business owner having UFC-style (Ultimate Fighting Championship-style) mixed martial arts fights in a gaming facility,” Tolbert said. “After about five months of investigations, we executed a search warrant at 2505 Highway 15 North about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.”
Tolbert said officers executed the search warrant of the business and Doherty was taken into custody.
Officials said public information assisted officers with this case.
“We started hearing about fights back in September and started working the case,” Tolbert said. “After numerous calls from angry parents, we were able to get some details.”
According to officials, Doherty was allegedly allowing juveniles to participate in the fighting.
During the search of the business, Tolbert said, officers found a large quantity of the injectable-type steroids.
Officials said because of the items seized in the incident, Doherty was charged with one count of possession of steroids, a Schedule 3 Controlled substance, and one count of failure to obtain a license for mixed martial arts.
According to city records, Doherty was issued a business license for the arcade business on July 22, 2009.
“In order for him to be able to conduct those fights, there are certain criteria he’d have to meet. He would also have to obtain a license from the Mississippi Athletic Commission, and he didn’t have that license,” Tolbert explained. “However, with his arcade business, it appears that he was operating it legally. He had pool tables and arcade games.
“It was a legitimate business up front,” he added. “What he was doing in the back is what got him in trouble. ... He was holding fights or allowing people to fight without proper license.”
Officials said the investigation of this case “was complicated.”
“A lot of leg work and phone calls had to be made,” Tolbert said. “He was holding fights just about every night.”
More info on British teenager's death court case.
TWO men who sold black market steroids to a teenager who later died have avoided jail.
Garry Penny, 21, and Alexander Moss-Austin, 18, were handed 12-month supervision orders and told to carry out 160 hours unpaid work for selling the drugs to Matthew Dear, 17, who died weeks after taking the drugs.
Speaking outside Basildon Crown Court yesterday, Matthew’s parents said they were furious at the sentence, which could not take their son’s death into account because medical evidence could not prove the drugs were to blame.
The court heard Matthew of Hamstel Road, Southend, had approached Moss-Austin, of Kings Road, Westcliff, in March last year, asking if he could get some steroids to help him beef up his muscles.
Andrew Jackson, prosecuting, said: “Matthew had ambitions of joining the Army, and he wanted to increase his strength and size in that regard, and decided to see whether or not he could obtain some steroids. Alexander Moss-Austin agreed to source steroid tablets and he made contact with the defendant Mr Penny.”
With Penny’s help, Moss-Austin was able to get hold of about 100 steroid pills for £80, and gave 50 to Matthew and 50 to another person in exchange for £40 each. Just weeks later in April, Matthew fell seriously ill and was taken to Southend Hospital. He was discharged but soon deteriorated.
He died in hospital following swelling to his brain days later.
Before he died, he told his dad Chris about taking the drugs, and Moss-Austin and Penny were arrested.
However, while an initial report on Matthew’s post-mortem examination showed the drugs could have caused his death, Mr Jackson said later reports cast doubt on the finding. He added: “There was insufficient evidence to invite this court to find, beyond reasonable doubt, that the drugs supplied by the two defendants caused the death of Matthew Dear.”
In December, Moss-Austin, of Kings Road, Westcliff, pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying class C drug methandienone.
Penny, of London Road, Westcliff, pleaded guilty to one count of supplying, or being involved in the supply, of methandienone.
Yvette Kresner and William Elwyn-Jones, representing Penny and Moss-Austin, asked for the defendants’ early pleas to be taken into account and that Matthew’s death could not be considered in the sentence. Mr Elwyn-Jones added Moss-Austin had not profited from the sale, and claimed the 18-year-old had been affected by his friend’s death.
Judge Alice Robinson, who also ordered Penny and Moss-Austin to pay £300 legal costs each, said nothing she could say or do could bring Matthew back.
Garry Penny, 21, and Alexander Moss-Austin, 18, were handed 12-month supervision orders and told to carry out 160 hours unpaid work for selling the drugs to Matthew Dear, 17, who died weeks after taking the drugs.
Speaking outside Basildon Crown Court yesterday, Matthew’s parents said they were furious at the sentence, which could not take their son’s death into account because medical evidence could not prove the drugs were to blame.
The court heard Matthew of Hamstel Road, Southend, had approached Moss-Austin, of Kings Road, Westcliff, in March last year, asking if he could get some steroids to help him beef up his muscles.
Andrew Jackson, prosecuting, said: “Matthew had ambitions of joining the Army, and he wanted to increase his strength and size in that regard, and decided to see whether or not he could obtain some steroids. Alexander Moss-Austin agreed to source steroid tablets and he made contact with the defendant Mr Penny.”
With Penny’s help, Moss-Austin was able to get hold of about 100 steroid pills for £80, and gave 50 to Matthew and 50 to another person in exchange for £40 each. Just weeks later in April, Matthew fell seriously ill and was taken to Southend Hospital. He was discharged but soon deteriorated.
He died in hospital following swelling to his brain days later.
Before he died, he told his dad Chris about taking the drugs, and Moss-Austin and Penny were arrested.
However, while an initial report on Matthew’s post-mortem examination showed the drugs could have caused his death, Mr Jackson said later reports cast doubt on the finding. He added: “There was insufficient evidence to invite this court to find, beyond reasonable doubt, that the drugs supplied by the two defendants caused the death of Matthew Dear.”
In December, Moss-Austin, of Kings Road, Westcliff, pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying class C drug methandienone.
Penny, of London Road, Westcliff, pleaded guilty to one count of supplying, or being involved in the supply, of methandienone.
Yvette Kresner and William Elwyn-Jones, representing Penny and Moss-Austin, asked for the defendants’ early pleas to be taken into account and that Matthew’s death could not be considered in the sentence. Mr Elwyn-Jones added Moss-Austin had not profited from the sale, and claimed the 18-year-old had been affected by his friend’s death.
Judge Alice Robinson, who also ordered Penny and Moss-Austin to pay £300 legal costs each, said nothing she could say or do could bring Matthew back.
Years of steroid use may harm kidneys.
Dr. Herlitz and her colleagues recently conducted the first study describing injury to the kidneys following long-term abuse of anabolic steroids. They studied a group of 10 bodybuilders (six Caucasians and four Hispanics) who used steroids for many years and experienced proteinuria and severe reductions in kidney function.
The men were seen between 1999 and 2009 and had highly muscular physiques. All were long-term anabolic androgenic steroid abusers, had proteinuria of 1g/day or greater, and a renal biopsy diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The average BMI was 34.7 kg/m2 (range: 27-43). The men presented with proteinuria (mean 10.1 g/day, range 1.3- 26.3 g/day) and renal insufficiency (mean serum creatinine 3.0 mg/dL, range: 1.3- 7.8 mg/dL). Five men presented with full nephritic syndrome.
It is well known that FSGS typically occurs when the kidneys are overworked. The kidney damage observed in this group of bodybuilders had similarities to that seen in morbidly obese patients, but appeared to be even more severe. Renal biopsy revealed FSGS in nine of the patients; four of the nine patients also had glomerulomegaly. One patient had glomerulomegaly alone. Three biopsies showed collapsing lesions of FSGS and four had perihilar lesions. Seven of the 10 men had tubular atrophy of 40% or greater and interstitial fibrosis.
“It is important to recognize that all the people in this series were long-term abusers, ranging from eight to 20 years of use,” explained Dr. Herlitz, who presented study findings at the 2009 Renal Week conference here. “So, it is unlikely that someone who uses for a few months is going to be significantly harmed. I really have no basis for estimating the prevalence of this problem and I'm hoping that this study will bring attention to the issue so that people will be aware of the entity and we can start to better understand who is affected and why.”
Follow-up data were available for eight of the 10 patients. The mean follow-up was 2.2 years. One patient progressed rapidly to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and seven patients received renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade. One of these seven also received corticosteroid therapy. All seven patients who received RAS blockade discontinued anabolic androgenic steroids and reduced their exercise regimens. They also lost weight and had a stabilization or improvement in serum creatinine and a decrease in proteinuria.
Although the bodybuilders who discontinued steroid use experienced improvement in their kidney abnormalities, one individual with advanced kidney disease progressed to ESRD and required dialysis. One subject started taking steroids again and suffered a relapse, developing progressive proteinuria and renal insufficiency.
Compared with historical controls who had obesity-related glomerulopathy, FSGS in these bodybuilders was a more severe form of the disease with higher creatinine and proteinuria levels at presentation. These patients also tended to have more glomerular and tubulointerstitial scarring.
The researchers proposed that extreme increases in muscle mass require the kidneys to increase their filtration rate, placing harmful levels of stress on the kidneys. “As in obese patients, the increased strain on the kidney from the elevated body mass leads to hyperfiltration injury,” Dr. Herlitz explained.
It is also likely that steroids have direct toxic effects on the kidneys. “Numerous animal models have shown adverse effects of androgens on the kidneys and we believe that the anabolic steroids themselves may be directly nephrotoxic,” she said.
The men were seen between 1999 and 2009 and had highly muscular physiques. All were long-term anabolic androgenic steroid abusers, had proteinuria of 1g/day or greater, and a renal biopsy diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The average BMI was 34.7 kg/m2 (range: 27-43). The men presented with proteinuria (mean 10.1 g/day, range 1.3- 26.3 g/day) and renal insufficiency (mean serum creatinine 3.0 mg/dL, range: 1.3- 7.8 mg/dL). Five men presented with full nephritic syndrome.
It is well known that FSGS typically occurs when the kidneys are overworked. The kidney damage observed in this group of bodybuilders had similarities to that seen in morbidly obese patients, but appeared to be even more severe. Renal biopsy revealed FSGS in nine of the patients; four of the nine patients also had glomerulomegaly. One patient had glomerulomegaly alone. Three biopsies showed collapsing lesions of FSGS and four had perihilar lesions. Seven of the 10 men had tubular atrophy of 40% or greater and interstitial fibrosis.
“It is important to recognize that all the people in this series were long-term abusers, ranging from eight to 20 years of use,” explained Dr. Herlitz, who presented study findings at the 2009 Renal Week conference here. “So, it is unlikely that someone who uses for a few months is going to be significantly harmed. I really have no basis for estimating the prevalence of this problem and I'm hoping that this study will bring attention to the issue so that people will be aware of the entity and we can start to better understand who is affected and why.”
Follow-up data were available for eight of the 10 patients. The mean follow-up was 2.2 years. One patient progressed rapidly to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and seven patients received renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade. One of these seven also received corticosteroid therapy. All seven patients who received RAS blockade discontinued anabolic androgenic steroids and reduced their exercise regimens. They also lost weight and had a stabilization or improvement in serum creatinine and a decrease in proteinuria.
Although the bodybuilders who discontinued steroid use experienced improvement in their kidney abnormalities, one individual with advanced kidney disease progressed to ESRD and required dialysis. One subject started taking steroids again and suffered a relapse, developing progressive proteinuria and renal insufficiency.
Compared with historical controls who had obesity-related glomerulopathy, FSGS in these bodybuilders was a more severe form of the disease with higher creatinine and proteinuria levels at presentation. These patients also tended to have more glomerular and tubulointerstitial scarring.
The researchers proposed that extreme increases in muscle mass require the kidneys to increase their filtration rate, placing harmful levels of stress on the kidneys. “As in obese patients, the increased strain on the kidney from the elevated body mass leads to hyperfiltration injury,” Dr. Herlitz explained.
It is also likely that steroids have direct toxic effects on the kidneys. “Numerous animal models have shown adverse effects of androgens on the kidneys and we believe that the anabolic steroids themselves may be directly nephrotoxic,” she said.
Steroid investigation at Georgia schools.
One student has been found with anabolic steroids and authorities say they suspect students from several Northwest Georgia Schools may be involved in the use of these drugs.
Anabolic steroids are controversial drugs used to enhance muscle mass and improve athletic performance.
A spokesperson said on Tuesday the Special Operations Division of the Calhoun, Ga. Police Department, after an extensive investigation, executed a search warrant on a vehicle in the parking lot of the Calhoun High School.
They say the vehicle belonged to a student who allegedly was selling anabolic steroids to other juveniles at the school.
They say they found "numerous vials and pills of suspected anabolic steroids," along with "anabolic steroid paraphernalia."
The unidentified juvenile was taken into custody and later released to his parents.
Sgt J. Marquez, Commander of the Special Operations Division said, “This is an ongoing investigation. The investigation has indicated students from several Northwest Georgia Schools may be involved in the use of these drugs.
Anabolic steroids are controversial drugs used to enhance muscle mass and improve athletic performance.
A spokesperson said on Tuesday the Special Operations Division of the Calhoun, Ga. Police Department, after an extensive investigation, executed a search warrant on a vehicle in the parking lot of the Calhoun High School.
They say the vehicle belonged to a student who allegedly was selling anabolic steroids to other juveniles at the school.
They say they found "numerous vials and pills of suspected anabolic steroids," along with "anabolic steroid paraphernalia."
The unidentified juvenile was taken into custody and later released to his parents.
Sgt J. Marquez, Commander of the Special Operations Division said, “This is an ongoing investigation. The investigation has indicated students from several Northwest Georgia Schools may be involved in the use of these drugs.
Kentucky trio pleads guilty to steroid charges.
A one-time Kentucky body-building champion and two others have pleaded guilty on federal steroid charges.
Kevin Seth Revelette, 38, of Greenville, Kentucky, and 43 year-old Jimmie Lynn Garrison pled guilty to distributing anabolic steroids, and Garrison and Mary Kay Hamilton, 32, of Owensboro, Kentucky, also pled guilty to destroying evidence to obstruct an investigation.
Revelette, the 2006 Mr. Kentucky body building champion, and Garrison admitted that between October 2006 and April 2008, they conspired with Brandon Millay, also of Owensboro, to distribute anabolic steroids, which are Schedule III controlled substances. Hamilton and Garrison admitted that on May 6, 2008, they destroyed evidence to obstruct a federal investigation. Millay previously pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Co-defendant Keith Barrett Evans is scheduled for trial on April 14.
Revelette, Garrison and Hamilton are scheduled to be sentenced July 6 in Owensboro.
Kevin Seth Revelette, 38, of Greenville, Kentucky, and 43 year-old Jimmie Lynn Garrison pled guilty to distributing anabolic steroids, and Garrison and Mary Kay Hamilton, 32, of Owensboro, Kentucky, also pled guilty to destroying evidence to obstruct an investigation.
Revelette, the 2006 Mr. Kentucky body building champion, and Garrison admitted that between October 2006 and April 2008, they conspired with Brandon Millay, also of Owensboro, to distribute anabolic steroids, which are Schedule III controlled substances. Hamilton and Garrison admitted that on May 6, 2008, they destroyed evidence to obstruct a federal investigation. Millay previously pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Co-defendant Keith Barrett Evans is scheduled for trial on April 14.
Revelette, Garrison and Hamilton are scheduled to be sentenced July 6 in Owensboro.
Dianabol found not guilty in British teenager's death.
A father whose son died after taking steroids said he felt "totally let down" as two men who admitted supplying the pills walked free from court yesterday.
Marine cadet Matt Dear, 17, was killed by swelling of the brain after taking the drugs, but medics couldn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that they caused it.
Garry Penny, 21, and Alexander Moss-Austin, 18, from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, got a community order with a year's supervision, plus 160 hours' unpaid work. Matt, also from the town, was training to try the tough entry test for the Royal Marines when he turned 18, Basildon crown court heard. He fell ill and died last April. Outside the court, dad Chris said: "We have here a kid who is super-fit. Now he is dead and they cannot tell me what killed him. It's ridiculous."
Marine cadet Matt Dear, 17, was killed by swelling of the brain after taking the drugs, but medics couldn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that they caused it.
Garry Penny, 21, and Alexander Moss-Austin, 18, from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, got a community order with a year's supervision, plus 160 hours' unpaid work. Matt, also from the town, was training to try the tough entry test for the Royal Marines when he turned 18, Basildon crown court heard. He fell ill and died last April. Outside the court, dad Chris said: "We have here a kid who is super-fit. Now he is dead and they cannot tell me what killed him. It's ridiculous."
Customs and Pfizer catch Chinese internet source during US visit.
The high-powered drug maker Pfizer sure knows how to get the attention of federal agents and prosecutors.
The drug maker contacted Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston to blow the whistle that a Chinese business was selling counterfeit Viagra pills on the Internet, and now a full year later, that business owner is locked up at the Federal Detention Center in Houston.
Kum Leung Chow, also known as Lawrence Chow, owner of Kingdom International Enterprises, is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Houston this week on felony counts of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods and selling Misbranded Pharmaceuticals.
ICE agents spelled out their entire investigation in an affidavit to support the criminal charges against him. He was indicted by a federal grand jury last week and will face a judge for arraignment on Friday.
When agents got the call from Pfizer's investigative staff, complaining that its lucrative erection booster was being copied and sold online, agents arranged a controlled delivery. That means federal agents immediately jumped into action when this drug maker called them, and set up a "controlled delivery" to an address in Houston.
Sure enough, after placing that order, the Pfizer people turned it over to ICE agents.
In a matter of days, the affidavit spells out that ICE received an express mail package at their undercover address, containing 200 Viagra tablets that later tested to be counterfeit. Ther were also 15 four-count boxes of Cialis, an erection drug made by Eli Lilly Company.
Agents then contacted Chow at his business, Kingdom International Enterprise in Hong Kong, posing as an anxious customer ready to buy truckloads of the counterfeit drugs.
Phony drugs, especially those made in China, are usually bought for pennies on the dollar, allowing a massive markup for the middle-man, while keeping the price below what legitimate drug stores charge for the authentic drugs. Plus, online sellers from overseas usually require no prescription, whereas the authentic drug requires a doctor's order in the United States.
In March 2009, agents write in their affidavit that Chow, using an e-mail address that begins with "lawking119", offered to ship 280 tablets of Viagra and 120 tablets of Cialis. The going rate? He charged $10 per box of both drugs (each box containing 4 pills each).
Less than a month later, the shipment arrived at the undercover mail box in Houston. The package was described as "gift" on the waybill (paperwork required for international shipments).
Then, the plot thickened as Chow apparently sensed he had a hot customer.
In an April 12, 2009 e-mail to the undercover ICE agents, the court affidavit says Chow described his company as being a "reliable exporter from China to States."
Chow is quoted as writing, "I personally have very good reputation in most of the importers in New York. We believe we are able to do things together since I am able to travel to States and China easily and our company is a registered limited company in Hong Kong."
In the first transaction, agents wired $1,000 into Chow's bank account, and then another order was placed by agents for $2,250. The second order was for 200 four-count boxes of Viagra and 50 four-count boxes of Cialis at a price of $9 per box. This time the waybill said "Plastic box" when asked what was contained in the shipment.
An undercover agent then called Chow on the phone to negotiate much larger sales and that's when the plot thickened. Agents write,
Chow detailed a scheme in which large shipments of pills would be concealed in containers of merchandise arriving into the United States. Chow's forwarder in the United States would then retrieve the pills and send them to the (undercover agent). Chow emphasized that this method would be beneficial because the packages containing the pharmaceuticals would not have to clear Customs."
The undercover agent said that Chow assured him that 8,000 boxes of pills could easily be concealed in the container. Chow told him Customs doesn't check every container and was concerned primarily with payment of duty for the merchandise that was fully disclosed in the container. In other words, they wouldn't even know the pills existed because Customs only wanted the duty fees for the soap or electronics or whatever was actually declared in the load.
ICE agents then placed another order and wired another $2,700 into the bank account provided by Chow, but then the international businessman said he wasn't going to ship that order because he's only in business for massive orders from now on.
Agents write in their affidavit that, Chow stated that going forward, he would not accept small orders of pharmaceuticals. Chow indicated that a minimum order quantity of 5,000 boxes (20,000 tablets) would be required for all future orders of pharmaceuticals. Chow cited recent seizures by Chinese Customs of EMS parcels containing pharmaceuticals as a reason for not wanting to engage in small orders."
ICE agents wanted to keep him on the line, but without paying such a huge sum of money for a larger order than they needed to prove their case, so they agreed to have that $2,700 act as a deposit for a big 20,000 tablet order. They asked if he could send them a sample for that order.
In June 2009, that sample arrived at the Houston undercover address, this time the shipping paperwork that was examined by Customs and postal officials said the shipments contained a "Sample of Toys."
ICE agents had Pfizer and Lilly laboratories test all of the shipments of pills and agents said both companies confirmed the packaging and the pills themselves were all phonies.
During his e-mail communications, Chow mentioned he was going to be in Los Angeles to work out a deal for cigarettes. He was placed on a watch list and court documents show the government database revealed Kum Leung Chow entered the US through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on December 7th.
One month later, in January, Chow was arrested by federal agents in New York and then brought to Houston to face the criminal charges.
A second man, Edward Webb (also known as Nick Wells) is also facing similar charges in Houston, accused of trafficking in counterfeit Viagra and Cialis that were coming from China. A warrant was issued last week, requiring him to appear before a magistrate judge on 6 felony counts.
Court papers were vague, so it was unclear if he is the freight forwarding agent or exactly how he was involved in the scheme.
The drug maker contacted Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston to blow the whistle that a Chinese business was selling counterfeit Viagra pills on the Internet, and now a full year later, that business owner is locked up at the Federal Detention Center in Houston.
Kum Leung Chow, also known as Lawrence Chow, owner of Kingdom International Enterprises, is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Houston this week on felony counts of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods and selling Misbranded Pharmaceuticals.
ICE agents spelled out their entire investigation in an affidavit to support the criminal charges against him. He was indicted by a federal grand jury last week and will face a judge for arraignment on Friday.
When agents got the call from Pfizer's investigative staff, complaining that its lucrative erection booster was being copied and sold online, agents arranged a controlled delivery. That means federal agents immediately jumped into action when this drug maker called them, and set up a "controlled delivery" to an address in Houston.
Sure enough, after placing that order, the Pfizer people turned it over to ICE agents.
In a matter of days, the affidavit spells out that ICE received an express mail package at their undercover address, containing 200 Viagra tablets that later tested to be counterfeit. Ther were also 15 four-count boxes of Cialis, an erection drug made by Eli Lilly Company.
Agents then contacted Chow at his business, Kingdom International Enterprise in Hong Kong, posing as an anxious customer ready to buy truckloads of the counterfeit drugs.
Phony drugs, especially those made in China, are usually bought for pennies on the dollar, allowing a massive markup for the middle-man, while keeping the price below what legitimate drug stores charge for the authentic drugs. Plus, online sellers from overseas usually require no prescription, whereas the authentic drug requires a doctor's order in the United States.
In March 2009, agents write in their affidavit that Chow, using an e-mail address that begins with "lawking119", offered to ship 280 tablets of Viagra and 120 tablets of Cialis. The going rate? He charged $10 per box of both drugs (each box containing 4 pills each).
Less than a month later, the shipment arrived at the undercover mail box in Houston. The package was described as "gift" on the waybill (paperwork required for international shipments).
Then, the plot thickened as Chow apparently sensed he had a hot customer.
In an April 12, 2009 e-mail to the undercover ICE agents, the court affidavit says Chow described his company as being a "reliable exporter from China to States."
Chow is quoted as writing, "I personally have very good reputation in most of the importers in New York. We believe we are able to do things together since I am able to travel to States and China easily and our company is a registered limited company in Hong Kong."
In the first transaction, agents wired $1,000 into Chow's bank account, and then another order was placed by agents for $2,250. The second order was for 200 four-count boxes of Viagra and 50 four-count boxes of Cialis at a price of $9 per box. This time the waybill said "Plastic box" when asked what was contained in the shipment.
An undercover agent then called Chow on the phone to negotiate much larger sales and that's when the plot thickened. Agents write,
Chow detailed a scheme in which large shipments of pills would be concealed in containers of merchandise arriving into the United States. Chow's forwarder in the United States would then retrieve the pills and send them to the (undercover agent). Chow emphasized that this method would be beneficial because the packages containing the pharmaceuticals would not have to clear Customs."
The undercover agent said that Chow assured him that 8,000 boxes of pills could easily be concealed in the container. Chow told him Customs doesn't check every container and was concerned primarily with payment of duty for the merchandise that was fully disclosed in the container. In other words, they wouldn't even know the pills existed because Customs only wanted the duty fees for the soap or electronics or whatever was actually declared in the load.
ICE agents then placed another order and wired another $2,700 into the bank account provided by Chow, but then the international businessman said he wasn't going to ship that order because he's only in business for massive orders from now on.
Agents write in their affidavit that, Chow stated that going forward, he would not accept small orders of pharmaceuticals. Chow indicated that a minimum order quantity of 5,000 boxes (20,000 tablets) would be required for all future orders of pharmaceuticals. Chow cited recent seizures by Chinese Customs of EMS parcels containing pharmaceuticals as a reason for not wanting to engage in small orders."
ICE agents wanted to keep him on the line, but without paying such a huge sum of money for a larger order than they needed to prove their case, so they agreed to have that $2,700 act as a deposit for a big 20,000 tablet order. They asked if he could send them a sample for that order.
In June 2009, that sample arrived at the Houston undercover address, this time the shipping paperwork that was examined by Customs and postal officials said the shipments contained a "Sample of Toys."
ICE agents had Pfizer and Lilly laboratories test all of the shipments of pills and agents said both companies confirmed the packaging and the pills themselves were all phonies.
During his e-mail communications, Chow mentioned he was going to be in Los Angeles to work out a deal for cigarettes. He was placed on a watch list and court documents show the government database revealed Kum Leung Chow entered the US through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on December 7th.
One month later, in January, Chow was arrested by federal agents in New York and then brought to Houston to face the criminal charges.
A second man, Edward Webb (also known as Nick Wells) is also facing similar charges in Houston, accused of trafficking in counterfeit Viagra and Cialis that were coming from China. A warrant was issued last week, requiring him to appear before a magistrate judge on 6 felony counts.
Court papers were vague, so it was unclear if he is the freight forwarding agent or exactly how he was involved in the scheme.
"Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-kept Secret" press coverage highlights.
The caveats don't outweigh the justifications, which easily can be twisted into promotions. Jay's book, "Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-kept Secret," contradicts its cautionary tales so often that it won't deter anyone from doping. It might prevent famous athletes from relying on a lost-soul little brother as a guide through the world of synthetic hormones, but that's about it.
He brags that bodybuilders know more about steroids than any other athletes or, for that matter, doctors. He says of Mark's confession to trying the drugs in 1989, five years before Jay claims to have been counseling him on doping: "Obviously, he had no idea what he was doing!"
Jay describes receiving a 1998 Ford Explorer from his big brother shortly after Mark took Roger Maris' home run record in 1998. "I believe this was Mark's way of saying thank you for being a part of his success. I had helped him save his career by getting him into the right lifestyle and helping him to heal by prescribing the right stuff for him."
Jay also talks about a "not very toxic" steroid that a mature bodybuilder recommended to him and other teenagers. "He knew that it would help us gain strength, but that it wouldn't hurt us," the book says.
The brothers probably don't even realize that they're making a case for steroid use, presenting it as medicinal and enabling people who want to rationalize or trivialize it. They're simply playing sloppy defense, which appears to run in the family. They're both naturals.
He brags that bodybuilders know more about steroids than any other athletes or, for that matter, doctors. He says of Mark's confession to trying the drugs in 1989, five years before Jay claims to have been counseling him on doping: "Obviously, he had no idea what he was doing!"
Jay describes receiving a 1998 Ford Explorer from his big brother shortly after Mark took Roger Maris' home run record in 1998. "I believe this was Mark's way of saying thank you for being a part of his success. I had helped him save his career by getting him into the right lifestyle and helping him to heal by prescribing the right stuff for him."
Jay also talks about a "not very toxic" steroid that a mature bodybuilder recommended to him and other teenagers. "He knew that it would help us gain strength, but that it wouldn't hurt us," the book says.
The brothers probably don't even realize that they're making a case for steroid use, presenting it as medicinal and enabling people who want to rationalize or trivialize it. They're simply playing sloppy defense, which appears to run in the family. They're both naturals.
WWE Wrestler ‘Umaga’ Died of ‘Acute Toxicity’.
The results are in for the toxicology study of World Wrestling Entertainment performer Eddie “Umaga” Fatu, who died at age 36 of a heart attack in Houston on December 4, 2009.
Dan Morgan, supervisory forensic investigator for Harris County, told me in an email, “The cause of death is acute toxicity due to combined effects of hydrocodone, carisoprodol, and diazepam.”
Dan Morgan, supervisory forensic investigator for Harris County, told me in an email, “The cause of death is acute toxicity due to combined effects of hydrocodone, carisoprodol, and diazepam.”
UK raids net £180,000 worth of counterfeit drugs.
Police and officials from the UK Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) executed search warrants in Bristol on March 1, confiscating £180,000-worth ($270,000) of counterfeit medicines as well as cannabis plants valued at £40,000-£60,000.
A number of suspected counterfeit medicinal products were uncovered in the raids, including product presented as the erectile dysfunction treatments Levitra (vardenafil) from Bayer, Pfizer's Viagra (sildenafil) and Eli Lilly's Cialis (tadalafil), as well as other medicines such as the sedative diazepam.
Two men aged 23 and 28 have been arrested in connection with the case.
A number of suspected counterfeit medicinal products were uncovered in the raids, including product presented as the erectile dysfunction treatments Levitra (vardenafil) from Bayer, Pfizer's Viagra (sildenafil) and Eli Lilly's Cialis (tadalafil), as well as other medicines such as the sedative diazepam.
Two men aged 23 and 28 have been arrested in connection with the case.
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