Anabolic Edge

By Jose Antonio Ph.D.

The 'Dope' on Gene Doping

Steroids? Hah! Athletes are always a step ahead of everyone else. Why? Because what they do directly affects their pocketbook. Hence, the motivation to find the newest, coolest and most effective ergogenic aids on the planet. Some scientists are studying how we can modify genes to boost endurance or muscle mass according to an article in the Feb. 5 issue of Science, the premier science journal in the world.

Apparently this has lots of folks worried. 'Gene doping' as it is fondly called, is considered dangerous by some (in spite of the complete lack of data showing this). True, altering one's genes has associated risks. But so does training like a maniac and beating your body up every day just to run 1 second faster or hit a ball 50 feet farther.

Come on! The nature of competitive athletics is that it is risky, dangerous, and voluntary. Yes, nobody is putting a gun to the heads of athletes, telling them they must train. Unless, of course, you live in some third-world hellhole where getting a bag of rice is considered a perfect day of eating.

Interestingly, gene therapy is considered a promising new strategy for treating diseases. With the 2010 Winter Olympics just concluded here in North America, do you think that someone who straps on a pair of skis and 'flys' down a hill faster than your grandma can drive a Prius, is worried about the side effects of 'gene doping'? As much as the mainstream press feels a need to demonize androgen use, one wonders if now this demonization will be transferred over now to gene doping? I'm sure the 'doom and gloom' crowd will be out in full force!

Trenbelone— Like SARMs?

One of the new cool drugs that's being studied includes selective androgen receptor modulators (or SARMs for short). SARMS can combat the harmful catabolic effects of hypogonadism, especially in skeletal muscle and bone, without inducing the undesirable androgenic effects (e.g., prostate enlargement and polycythemia) associated with testosterone administration.

Wow. Something that gives you the benefits of steroids, minus the side effects. Mmm... sounds pretty cool. Well, there is a steroid called 17beta-Hydroxyestra-4,9,11-trien-3-one (Trenbolone; 17beta-TBOH), a synthetic analog of testosterone, which may indeed have SARM-like effects as it binds to androgen receptors (ARs) with approximately three times the affinity of testosterone. And it's been shown to promote muscle and bone mass gains, as well as reduce fat mass.

In fact, a recent study found that compared to testosterone, 17beta-TBOH appears to induce less growth in androgen-sensitive organs (e.g., prostate tissue and accessory sex-organs).1 So if optimal growth of muscle while minimizing growth of your prostate is important, then trenbelone is a steroid that may fit the bill.

Testosterone is Cardioprotective

In a study on male rats, scientists tested whether chronic testosterone treatment would promote a cardioprotective phenotype against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury (a model of heart damage). Testosterone administration increased post-ischemic recovery of aortic flow, cardiac output, cardiac work, left ventricular developed pressure, and contractility during reperfusion. These scientists concluded that administration of high-dose testosterone confers cardioprotection through yet-to-be-identified androgen-dependent mechanism(s).2 Wow. And no rats went into rat-'roid-rage.

Cholesterol Drops, But So Does Your Tallywacker

This study looked at the relationship between statin therapy (a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs) and hormonal parameters, in a large series of subjects seeking medical care for erectile dysfunction (ED). Wow. Their hearts are in trouble; and more importantly, they can't get it up. Depressing, huh? They found that the use of statins was associated with a reduced testis volume and a higher prevalence of hypogonadism-related symptoms and signs. Lower levels of total and calculated free testosterone were also observed in subjects treated with statins.3 The moral of the story: stay away from prescribed meds as much as you can. The side effects are often worse than the original problem being treated.

Testosterone Given to Old Folks

Participants were intermediate-frail and frail elderly men at least 65 years of age, with a total testosterone (T) at or below 12 nmol/liter or free T at or below 250 pmol/liter. Two hundred seventy-four participants received transdermal T (50 mg/d) or placebo gel for six months.

They found that giving this anabolic steroid to grandpa improved leg muscle strength and increased lean body mass and lessened fat mass; physical function improved among older and frailer men. So can you imagine that? Testosterone treatment in intermediate-frail and frail elderly men with low to borderline-low T for six months can indeed prevent age-associated loss of lower limb muscle strength and improve body composition, quality of life, and physical function.4 Yet congress many years ago had asinine hearings about how anabolic steroids were lethal, harmful, and just plain bad. Geez, we're ruled by idiots!

Nandrolone Turns on Satellite Cells

The anabolic androgenic steroid nandrolone decanoate has minimal androgenic effects; that's a good thing. So it acts similarly to SARMs. In a wacky study using chickens, of all animals, nandrolone was injected at weekly intervals for four weeks into the right pectoralis muscle of female white leghorn chickens, aged 63 days post-hatch.

Nandrolone significantly increased mean pectoralis mass by approximately 22 percent, and mean fiber diameter by about 24 percent. Nandrolone-injected birds had on average higher satellite cells, number of satellite cells per millimeter of fiber, and satellite cell concentrations (closer together). Myonuclei were further apart (less concentrated) in nandrolone-injected muscle. However, an overall increase in myonuclear numbers was revealed by a significantly greater mean number of myonuclei per millimeter of fiber in nandrolone-injected muscle.5

Depressed Rats

Scientists used male adult rats that were injected for four weeks with either nandrolone or stanozolol at daily doses (5 mg/kg, s.c.) that are considered equivalent to those abused by humans on a milligram-per-kilogram of bodyweight basis. They found changes related to the pathophysiology of depression. All effects produced by the steroids were prevented by co-administration with the classical antidepressant, chlorimipramine.

The evidence that supraphysiological doses of AASs induced changes indicative of a depressive state in normal rats, raises the concern that AAS abuse in humans may cause depression.6 Now, two things. One: too much of any drug will cause harmful effects and, Two: how do you know if a rat's depressed?

References:

1. Yarrow JF, McCoy SC, Borst SE. Tissue selectivity and potential clinical applications of trenbolone (17beta-hydroxyestra-4,9,11-trien-3-one): A potent anabolic steroid with reduced androgenic and estrogenic activity. Steroids.

2. Borst SE, Quindry JC, Yarrow JF, Conover CF, Powers SK. Testosterone Administration Induces Protection Against Global Myocardial Ischemia. Horm Metab Res, 42:122-129.

3. Corona G, Boddi V, Balercia G, et al. The Effect of Statin Therapy on Testosterone Levels in Subjects Consulting for Erectile Dysfunction. J Sex Med.

4. Srinivas-Shankar U, Roberts SA, Connolly MJ, et al. Effects of testosterone on muscle strength, physical function, body composition, and quality of life in intermediate-frail and frail elderly men: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 95:639-50.

5. Allouh MZ, Rosser BW. Nandrolone decanoate increases satellite cell numbers in the chicken pectoralis muscle. Histol Histopathol, 25:133-40.

6. Matrisciano F, Modafferi AM, Togna GI, et al. Repeated Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Treatment Causes Antidepressant-Reversible Alterations Of The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis, Bdnf Levels And Behaviour. Neuropharmacology.