Since news broke in summer 2003 that some professional and Olympic-level athletes were taking the steroid THG, the term "designer steroid" has become a new entry to the sports lexicon.

Sportswriters, athletes, fans and others talking about the "better-athletes-through-chemistry" problem are using "designer steroid" without a clear understanding of its meaning. Accordingly, the use of the term deserves some attention. What exactly are designer steroids?

Although there are many categories of steroids, the steroids that are banned in sport are anabolic androgenic steroids. In simple terms, "anabolic" means muscle building and "androgenic" means "masculinizing."

All anabolic androgenic steroids are synthetic variations of the male hormone, testosterone, and all have muscle-building and masculinizing effects. Since the development of synthetic testosterone, scientists have been chemically modifying the testosterone molecule for legitimate medical purposes to "design" a compound that maximizes the anabolic effect of the steroid and minimizes the androgenic effect.

Therefore, all anabolic androgenic steroids are "designer steroids." Most are valuable for the treatment of wasting diseases and other medical conditions.

Along comes tetrahydrogestrinone, THG for short. Yes, it is a "designer steroid." It has no known medical use. (THG is a chemical variant of gestrinone, a steroid used for the treatment of endometriosis.)

What makes THG special is not that it is a "designer steroid," but that it is a steroid developed for the sole purpose of cheating in sport. For an unknown period of time, THG users have been building muscle, enhancing their athletic performance and passing their drug tests.

The THG controversy affects collegiate drug testing in a number of ways. Some are obvious. For example, cheating at any level of sport affects how society views the integrity and value of athletic competition, including collegiate. Other effects are not as obvious but deserve some consideration:

Testing at the college level must keep pace with the cheaters.

The NCAA testing program and drug-testing programs administered by conferences and colleges must stay current. As new drugs and new methods for detection of banned drugs become available, they must be integrated into the testing scheme. The NCAA has an excellent record in this regard. Examples include the NCAA's continued expansion of out-of-competition testing, the integration of EPO testing into its drug-deterrence programs and the inclusion of THG testing as soon as it became available.

Steroid testing should be done at labs committed to drug-free sport.

The UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory solved the THG puzzle. This was no accident. Since the early 1980s, UCLA has been a pioneer in the kind of research that helps sport keep pace with the cheaters. The NCAA has been a partner with the UCLA lab since 1986. The National Football League and the United States Olympic Committee also make this commitment.

Sports organizations should use only those labs truly committed to research, performance-enhancing-drug detection and a code of ethics that guards against aiding the cheaters. Has your lab helped develop a test to detect steroids like THG? Does it accept samples from individuals who are trying to escape steroid-use detection?

Sports organizations can create an environment that promotes cheating.

On the other hand, colleges -- through the actions of their administrators and coaches -- can create an environment of honesty, respect and personal responsibility.

What messages do your policies and actions send about performance enhancement? Do your coaches recruit known drug users? Are you unclear about what your organization stands for? Do you test and do you apply sanctions in a consistent way? Is success measured in ways in addition to winning? Do you align your athletics department with organizations that are unclear about their commitment to drug-free sport? What actions will you take to prevent athletes from chasing after the next THG?

Frank Uryasz is president of The National Center for Drug Free Sport in Kansas City. Missouri.