Yes, there’s a connection, and a sad one. From the SI story:
"As far as supplying drugs, Anderson thought of his role as ‘middleman.’ In San Francisco he knew AIDS patients who had prescriptions for testosterone and human growth hormone and were willing to sell their drugs for cash. Anderson bought and resold them virtually at cost to clients who wanted them for their anabolic effects."
Testosterone is used for its anabolic effects for people with HIV as well – to reboot our own testosterone production to avoid weight-loss and wasting. HGH is used primarily for severely wasted men with AIDS but also a treatment for some side-effects of anti-retroviral drugs. As medications, they work well. Until I got testosterone therapy a few years ago, I dealt with insistent fatigue, and mild depression. Maybe some of the prescriptions were not really needed. But if they were, it seems a shame that some are foregoing important treatments so that others can cheat in sports.
(Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters).
The Dish 