Steroids boost muscles for the long haul

Experiments in mice suggest effects don’t end when doping does

PUMPED UP  Mouse muscles treated with steroids (right) grow bigger than ones in undrugged animals (left). Steroids increase the number of nuclei in a muscle cell, which may help the muscle pump back up long after the steroids are gone. 

J.C. Bruusgaard/ University of Oslo

Steroids may continue to boost muscle-building capacity long after a person stops taking the drugs, a new study of mice suggests.