Answer soon on steroid-use by Napier gunman

Jan Molenaar. Photo / Supplied

Whether Jan Molenaar was under the influence of steroids should be revealed by tests of body fluids taken during his autopsy.

Reports linked Molenaar, a body builder, to steroid use but provided no source for the claim, which has been denied by his brother, Peter.

Outbursts of temper and violence have been linked with abuse of steroids and are colloquially referred to as "roid rage".

Anabolic steroids are related to the hormone testosterone. Steroids are used in medicine to stimulate bone growth and appetite, induce male puberty and treat chronic wasting conditions such as cancer and Aids.

They are banned by all major sports bodies because their use is considered cheating due to their potential to artificially boost strength.

Abuse of steroids has been linked to harmful physical side-effects such as raised blood pressure and cholesterol and coronary disease. The few long-term studies of psychiatric effects indicate side-effects including raised aggression and mood swings.

The deaths of Texas college gridiron player Taylor Hooton, who committed suicide, and Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit, who murdered his wife and 7-year-old son in Georgia, USA, before killing himself, have fuelled debate about the propensity of steroids to prompt violent irrational behaviour.