Written by Dr. Jose Antonio
13 April 2010

Anabolic Edge

 

Testosterone Makes You Not So Giving

 

            Does your wife or girlfriend ever accuse you of being an insensitive, selfish, self-absorbed and uncaring S.O.B.? Well, you can blame it on testosterone. That’s right, fellas. You have a hormonal excuse. Testosterone gives men more skeletal muscle mass than women, but on the flip side, it can make men behave badly— very badly. According to a recent news report, “testosterone makes tough muscular men much less generous than weedier peers.” Shouldn’t that be weanier? Aw heck.

            First of all, we know that exercise itself can cause transient elevations in testosterone. What happens, though, if you give a guy a testosterone boost with a little bit of cream? Accordingly, a testosterone cream caused a 27 percent reduction in the generosity of cash offers during a money sharing game.

            A new study has found those with high testosterone levels are less generous than men with lower levels of the hormone. Scientists tested the generosity of 25 male students at Claremont Graduate University. The volunteers were given a testosterone-containing gel, which doubled the amount of the big T in their bloodstream and compared it to a placebo cream. The students then played a simple economic game with another participant via a computer. Mmm… sounds innocuous, right? Then they asked one volunteer to split $10 with another volunteer in any way he likes.

            The other volunteer either accepted the offer or rejected it as unfair, in which case no one received any money. And each volunteer played this game in both roles, on and off the testosterone gel. And guess what? Overall, the testosterone cream caused a 27 percent reduction in the generosity of the offers, from averages of $2.15 to $1.57.

            Also, men with the most DHT in their bloodstream offered their partners a paltry $0.55 of the $10, while men with the least amount of DHT tendered $3.65, on average. So there you have it. Evidence that your selfishness is in fact due to your gonads secreting the big T. I guess if your wife or girlfriend complains, tell her you just can’t help it. (This research was presented at the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago IL). Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1223293/Testosterone-makes-tough-muscular-men-generous-weedier-peers.html#ixzz0VEA06gTt.

 

Elevates Erections and Testosterone

            We already know that exercise-related stress activates hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis; and that NO or nitric oxide is one of the mediators of the HPA axis response to stress. And we also know that phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors influences nitric oxide, too. Thus, this study determined whether a single oral long half-life phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (tadalafil aka Cialis [remember if your erection lasts 4 hours or more, go to your doctor; or just lock yourself in a hotel room with your girlfriend) administration influences the HPA axis response to exercise-related stress.

            This study involved nine healthy male athletes. All subjects performed a maximal exercise test, then they received a single oral administration of tadalafil or placebo. After a two-week washout period, they were crossed over and repeated the exercise test. The average salivary cortisol concentration increased immediately after exercise after both tadalafil and placebo; however, the cortisol increase was significantly higher after tadalafil administration.

            On the other hand, an increased salivary testosterone after exercise was observed only after tadalafil administration. Tadalafil administration amplified the salivary cortisol and testosterone responses to a maximal exercise-related stress in healthy trained humans.1 So what does this mean? Not sure. Though it does seem that tadalafil elevates the stress response. Which is odd in that the primary use of the drug requires that you aren’t stressed. Perhaps a different exercise protocol would produce elevations in T which could override the effects of cortisol?

 

Nandrolone a Great Recovery Steroid

            This study determined if anabolic steroid administration, specifically nandrolone decanoate or ND, improves skeletal muscle regeneration from bupivacaine-induced injury. Male mice were castrated 2 weeks prior to muscle injury induced by an intramuscular bupivacaine injection into the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle. Dang. You’d think castration itself was enough. Anabolic steroid (nandrolone decanoate (ND), 6 mg/kg) or sesame seed oil was administered at the time of initial injury and continued every 7 days for the study's duration. And they found indeed that nandrolone decanoate administration can enhance muscle regeneration during the recovery from bupivacaine-induced injury.2 This points to the fact that one of the reasons that androgens work so well is because of the dramatic effects on recovery. No wonder elite athletes love this stuff.

 

Amino Acid and Testosterone

            Aspartic acid (D-Aspartic acid [D-Asp]) is a nonessential amino acid in humans. But just because it is nonessential, doesn’t mean it isn’t important. The carboxylate anion of aspartic acid is known as aspartate. D-Asp is involved in the steroidogenesis, specifically the synthesis of the big T, testosterone.3,4 A recent study investigated the role of D-aspartate in both rats and humans. In humans, a group of 23 men were given a daily dose of D-aspartate for 12 days, whereas another group of 20 men were given a placebo.

            In rats, a group of 10 rats drank a solution of either 20 mM D-aspartate or a placebo for 12 days. Then LH and testosterone accumulation was determined in the serum and D-aspartate accumulation in tissues. The effects of D-aspartate on the synthesis of LH and testosterone were gauged on isolated rat pituitary and Leydig cells. Sorry, can’t do that in humans.  

            What did they discover? In humans and rats, sodium D-aspartate induces an enhancement of LH and testosterone release. Amen to that! Bottom line is: this amino acid, though technically non-essential, is very essential for making testosterone!

 

Ca++ and Testosterone

            The effects of four weeks of calcium supplementation were determined in 30 healthy male athletes who were equally divided into three study groups, as follows: Group 1 non-exercising subjects receiving 35 mg calcium per kg bodyweight; Group 2 subjects receiving 35 mg calcium per kg bodyweight undergoing training routines for 90 minutes per day, 5 days a week and Group 3 subjects undergoing training routines for 90 minutes per day, 5 days a week. They found that training results in increased testosterone levels in athletes and that the increase is greater if accompanied by calcium supplementation.5 The dose used is about 3,200 milligrams, give or take.

 

            Jose Antonio, Ph.D., is vice president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He has a Ph.D. in muscle physiology and is chief executive of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

References:

            1. Di Luigi L, Baldari C, Sgro P, Emerenziani GP, Gallotta MC, Bianchini S, Romanelli F, Pigozzi F, Lenzi A, Guidetti L: The type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitor tadalafil influences salivary cortisol, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate responses to maximal exercise in healthy men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2008, 93(9):3510-3514.

            2. White JP, Baltgalvis KA, Sato S, Wilson LB, Carson JA: The Effect of Nandrolone Decanoate Administration on Recovery from Bupivacaine-induced Muscle Injury. J Appl Physiol, 2009.

            3. D'Aniello A, Di Cosmo A, Di Cristo C, Annunziato L, Petrucelli L, Fisher G: Involvement of D-aspartic acid in the synthesis of testosterone in rat testes. Life Sci, 1996, 59(2):97-104.

            4. Lamanna C, Assisi L, Vittoria A, Botte V, Di Fiore MM: D-Aspartic acid and nitric oxide as regulators of androgen production in boar testis. Theriogenology, 2007, 67(2):249-254.

            5. Cinar V, Baltaci AK, Mogulkoc R, Kilic M: Testosterone levels in athletes at rest and exhaustion: effects of calcium supplementation. Biol Trace Elem Res, 2009, 129(1-3):65-69.