You know there ain’t no better anabolic hormone than the big T. Let’s face it, when you line up the anabolic big dogs— testosterone (and their potent derivatives), insulin, growth hormone, IGF-1 and the beta-agonists— testosterone is like Godzilla while the rest are mere lizards.1-7 Okay, maybe not that drastic, but you get the point. And to top it off, there’s always some pretty cool work that makes you wonder why the big T has gotten such a bad rap.     

For example, we know testosterone supplementation reduces total body fat, but we don’t know whether the effects are uniformly distributed throughout the body or are region specific. Also, does the dosage affect fat loss?8 In a recent study, scientists determined the effects of graded doses of testosterone on regional fat distribution in 54 healthy men (ages 18-35) in a 20-week randomized, double blind study of combined treatment with GnRH agonist plus one of five doses (25, 50, 125, 300, or 600 milligrams per week) of testosterone enanthate (TE).

In this study, researchers measured total body, appendicular (arms and legs) and trunk fat, as well as lean body mass via a DEXA scanner. Dose-dependent changes in fat mass were negatively correlated with TE dose at all sites and were equally distributed between the trunk and appendices. In English, that means the more testosterone they took, the more fat they lost. In addition, this fat loss was
equally distributed!  And a minimal weekly dose of 125 milligrams seems to be what’s needed. Below that dose, you may actually gain fat (probably because total T is just too low to exert a lipolytic effect).

Bone Up on Protein

One of the many enduring myths (and there are many) in the nutrition world is that eating lots of protein is bad for your bones. Whenever you eat more of this evil macronutrient, your bones end up being as brittle as your 98-year-old grandma whose idea of exercise is telling her grandkids to fetch her a can of Ensure. Okay, let’s lay this myth to rest por favor. And for that, we turn to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.9  Thirty-two subjects with usual protein intakes of less than 0.85 grams per kilogram of body weight per day (g/kg/day) were randomly assigned to daily high- (0.75 g/kg) or low- (0.04 g/kg) protein supplement groups for nine weeks. Isocaloric diets were maintained by an equal reduction of carb intake. 
Changes in urinary calcium excretion in the two groups did not differ. The high-protein group had significantly higher levels of serum IGF-I (a bone growth factor and an anabolic protein in general) and lower levels of urinary N-telopeptide (a marker of bone resorption). Thus, increasing protein intake from 0.78 to 1.55 g/kg/day with meat supplements in combination with reducing carbohydrate intake had no effect on calcium excretion; in fact, it had a positive effect! 

Testosterone Jacks Up Satellite Cell Activity

This is so according to a recent published abstract (www.acsm.org.)  Dreyer and co-workers looked at how androgen treatment affected satellite cell activity in rat muscle (specifically the diaphragm). They took adult male rats and administered testosterone by use of subcutaneously implanted Silastic™ capsules filled with crystalline testosterone (for 28 days). They found that pharmacologic testosterone treatment transiently increased quiescent (inactive) satellite cell number. This supports other work showing that testosterone may exert a hypertrophic (and perhaps hyperplastic) effect in skeletal muscle! 

 

Use Versus Abuse of Androgens

Clearly, the use of androgens is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon, meaning, with regard to possible body composition and health effects, dosage and frequency of use are a huge part of the equation. For instance, would doing one cycle of testosterone enanthate at a 600-milligram-per-week dose for a couple of months result in any harm? Not likely.10, 11 But if you’re on the juice longer than Wacko Jacko frequents Chuck E. Cheese’s, then as they say at NASA, “Houston, we got a problem.” 

A recent study reports the case of a 27-year-old male bodybuilder with acute myocardial infarction (also known as a heart attack!) due to occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery.12 He was treated but still developed a large myocardial infarction. The patient had been using anabolic steroids regularly for 10 years. There was no family history of heart disease or lipid disorder. Obviously, it is virtually impossible to draw a causal link between long-term androgen abuse (and in this case, it is abuse) and the heart attack.  However, to be that young and to have no family history, leads to the inevitable conclusion that androgens played a role in his heart problems, or that he would secretly eat donuts, drink half-and-half cream and eat lard like it was ice cream.  The use of anabolic steroids has been associated with acute changes in plasma lipid levels that perhaps in the long run could be deleterious.12

Funny Stuff in Science

You ever wondered how the folks at Viagra scientifically tested their wonder drug? Not that I have, but when you read the scientific studies in this category, it makes you wonder; hmmm, talk about how embarrassing it would be to volunteer for such a study. For instance, in one study,13 scientists determined the minimal time to successful intercourse after taking sildenafil citrate (Viagra) for erectile dysfunction (ED). They took men with ED (mean age 60 years; average ED duration 7.0 years) who were successfully treated with sildenafil (100 milligrams) for two months or longer and who were randomized to sildenafil (n = 115) or placebo (n = 113) for four weeks of double-blind treatment. Now, I don’t know about you, but how long would you wait before you went to a doctor to tell him your hydraulic system barely moved at the sight of a nekkid hottie? Seven years? Daaayuum.  

Anyhow, they had these poor guys use a stopwatch to record the time needed to obtain an erection hard enough for sexual intercourse after taking the study drug at least two hours after eating. Imagine that. You’ve got watch in hand, and the investigator says, “On your mark, get set, go!” That’s more pressure than sinking the last free throw to win the last game of an NBA Championship.
 

So what did they find? Within 14 and 20 minutes of Viagra dosing, 35 percent and 51 percent of Viagra-treated patients, respectively, versus 22 percent and 30 percent of placebo-treated patients, respectively, had an erection that led to successful intercourse. The median time (the median value means that 50 percent of those took longer and 50 percent took less time) to erection leading to successful intercourse after sildenafil dosing was 36 minutes, compared with 141 minutes for placebo. So, the poor placebo guys are waiting more than two hours before their plumbing starts, well, pumping.  By then, you could have watched an episode each of “Alias” and “The Apprentice.” Perhaps, if Amy (on “The Apprentice”) had shown more skin, she’d be in the top two. Nonetheless, this study does point out that sildenafil does not work all the time and that a placebo can sometimes work. It shows you that sex really is all in your head (well, some of it is, anyway).

References
 1.    Ustunel I, Akkoyunlu G, Demir R. The effect of testosterone on gastrocnemius muscle fibres in growing and adult male and female rats: a histochemical, morphometric and ultrastructural study. Anat Histol Embryol, Apr 2003;32(2):70-79.
2.    Smilios I, Pilianidis T, Karamouzis M, Tokmakidis SP. Hormonal responses after various resistance exercise protocols. Med Sci Sports Exerc, Apr 2003;35(4):644-654.
3.    Sinha-Hikim I, Roth SM, Lee MI, Bhasin S. Testosterone-induced muscle hypertrophy is associated with an increase in satellite cell number in healthy, young men. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, Jul 2003;285(1):E197-205.
4.    Hadi Mansouri S, Siegford JM, Ulibarri C. Early postnatal response of the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus and target muscles to testosterone in male gerbils. Brain Res Dev Brain Res, May 14 2003;142(2):129-139.
5.    Cross-Doersen D, Isfort R. A Novel Cell Based System for Evaluating Skeletal Muscle Cell Hypertrophy-Inducing Agents. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim, Apr 2003.
6.    Bhasin S, Taylor WE, Singh R, et al. The mechanisms of androgen effects on body composition: mesenchymal pluripotent cell as the target of androgen action. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, Dec 2003;58 (12): M1103-1110.
7.    Ahtiainen JP, Pakarinen A, Alen M, Kraemer WJ, Hakkinen K. Muscle hypertrophy, hormonal adaptations and strength development during strength training in strength-trained and untrained men. Eur J Appl Physiol, Aug 2003;89(6):555-563.
8.    Woodhouse LJ, Gupta N, Bhasin M, et al. Dose-dependent effects of testosterone on regional adipose tissue distribution in healthy young men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, Feb 2004;89(2):718-726.
9.    Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS, Rasmussen H, Song L, Dallal GE. Effect of dietary protein supplements on calcium excretion in healthy older men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, Mar 2004;89(3):1169-1173.
10.    Bhasin S, Storer TW, Berman N, et al. The effects of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone on muscle size and strength in normal men. N Engl J Med, Jul 4 1996;335(1):1-7.
11.    Bhasin S, Storer TW, Berman N, et al. Testosterone replacement increases fat-free mass and muscle size in hypogonadal men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, Feb 1997;82(2):407-413.
12.    Halvorsen S, Thorsby PM, Haug E. [Acute myocardial infarction in a young man who had been using androgenic anabolic steroids]. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen, Jan 22 2004;124(2):170-172.
13.    Padma-Nathan H, Stecher VJ, Sweeney M, Orazem J, Tseng LJ, Deriesthal H. Minimal time to successful intercourse after sildenafil citrate: results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Urology, Sep 2003;62(3):400-403.

STEPHEN: NEW BIO FOR ANABOLIC EDGE:
Jose Antonio, PhD, is Chief Science Officer of Javalution (www.JavaFit.com) and President of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (www.sportsnutritionsociety.org).  For information: www.JoseAntonioPhD.com