Sex steroid and growth hormone supplementation to enhance performance in adolescent athletes

Ergogenic aids are taken to enhance energy utilization by producing more, c ontrolling its use, or increasing mechanical efficiency. Most athletes are looking toward enhancing performance by proper training modalities and meth ods; however, some look to the biochemical route for a "quick fix," Thus, t he use of chemical agents is on the rise. Herein is provided information on the anabolic-androgenic agents androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, an d the "parent" compound, testosterone. The former two, at best, have equivo cal activity, but testosterone is both anabolic and androgenic in doses tha t adolescents might receive. Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor- 1 are anabolic, nonandrogenic compounds with undoubted effects on the lean body mass compartment. Both are expensive, not readily available, and subje ct to the art of counterfeiting. Thus, very few data are available in non-g rowth hormone-deficient adolescents. The discussion of these agents ends wi th issues of fairness, ethics, and the message we attempt to project to our teenagers, whether athletes or not. Curr Opin Pediatr 2000, 12:381-387 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.