The Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) of Brazil has prohibited the medical prescription of hormonal therapies with androgenic steroids and anabolic steroids for aesthetic purposes, to gain muscle mass or to improve sports performance.
The decision was made due to a lack of sufficient scientific evidence to support patient benefit and safety, Agencia Brasil said.
The Council warns of the potential risks of using inappropriate hormone doses and the possibility of harmful side effects, even with the use of therapeutic doses, especially in cases of correctly undiagnosed hormone deficiency.
The Council resolution establishes that the medical prescription of hormonal therapies is indicated in the event of a specific proven deficiency, based on the existence of a causal link between the deficiency and the clinical picture, where the hormone substitute provides scientifically proven benefits, being "prohibited to the doctor the prescription of drugs with indications not yet accepted by the scientific community".
Furthermore, the use of hormonal therapies to slow down, modulate or prevent aging remains prohibited.