There is no such thing as absolute safety or danger with any drug. Certainly, amid the media hysteria, there’s a lot of gray area in the world of androgens. An easy-to-follow analogy is the safety of driving a car. I imagine that if you drive a car at the speed limit down I-95, you’d be less likely to die in an automobile accident than if you were driving (and crashed) going 120 mph.  Driving isn’t absolutely safe or dangerous. Capeesh?  

Getting back to androgens, the evidence is as clear as a Texas sunset that taking low to moderate doses of certain androgens (e.g., testosterone enanthate, nandrolone decanoate, etc.) can produce significant gains in lean body mass, as well as muscular strength/power. On top of that, the side effects are largely benign and reversible. 

     Then, there’s the abuse side. There are rare case studies of abuse (and remember, case studies prove little other than some observation between the concurrent occurrence of a behavior [using androgens] and a potential result [liver damage]). There are case reports, however. For instance, there’s the case of two very different adult male bodybuilders who developed hepatocellular adenomas following anabolic/andrgenic steroid (AAS) abuse. The first patient was asymptomatic, but had two large liver lesions that were detected by ultrasound studies after routine medical examination. The second patient was admitted to our hospital with acute renal failure and ultrasound studies showing mild hepatomegaly with several very close hyperecogenic nodules in the liver, concordant with adenomas, at first diagnosis.

According to the doctors, in both cases the patients got better and the tumors have shown a tendency to regress after the withdrawal of AAS. The cases presented here are rare, but may well be suggestive of the natural course of AAS-induced hepatocellular adenomas.1 Keep in mind that these are exceedingly rare and it isn’t clear what other behaviors (i.e., other drugs) may have contributed to liver dysfunction. 

     Roids Good for Glycogen Restoration
     Male rats were randomized into four groups (sedentary vehicle (SV), sedentary AAS (SA), trained vehicle (TV) and trained AAS (TA)). All were treated with nandrolone (five milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight, twice a week, intramuscularly) or vehicle. The vehicle is basically the placebo. And if you’re trying to do some mental gymnastics, that dose is equal to about 455 milligrams twice per week in a 200-pound adult human. So, it’s a good little dose there. Trained rats performed jumps into water (four sets, 10 repetitions, 30 seconds rest) carrying a 50-70 percent bodyweight load strapped to the chest (five days per week for six weeks). This exercise should never be tried at home.
     What did the researchers find? The trained animals had lower bodyweight and triglyceride levels and higher glycogen content in the liver and the gastrocnemius muscle than the untrained rats. In the heart muscle, the association between training and AAS increased glycogen content, while in the soleus, AAS (trained and had steroids) increased glycogen.2 It seems that in certain muscles, androgen administration may actually enhance glycogen restoration. This has implications for the post-exercise recovery period and might explain, in part, the effects of androgens on speeding up this process.

     Jumpstart the ‘Nads
     I’m sure those of you who have partaken of the various anabolic cocktails realize one of the effects is a drop in sperm production (to zero). Sure, it’s great for birth control, but what happens when you want to start a family? According to a recent report, most patients recover normal spermatogenesis, or sperm production, by ending androgen self-administration. The average period of time until recovery is 6.35 months. Patients not recovering after six months are perhaps given tamoxifen (20 milligrams per 24-hour period), if they have a normal or inhibited hypothalamus-hypophysis axis. And if that doesn’t work, you’d better go see the best endocrinologist money can buy.3

     Why Hospital Food Sucks
     Think of this scenario. You’re lying in bed, catabolizing muscle tissue faster than Danica Patrick can drive, and you’re in need of something to stop the catabolism fast! So what do you get? Jello, bad food and more bad food. It makes me wonder what the medical community is thinking when the food they provide for hospital patients is barely enough to sustain the muscle mass of a mouse. A recent study actually compared your typical hospital meal versus a combination of essential Amino Acids and carbohydrate. Now we’re talking.

     Scientists compared an essential amino acid and carbohydrate (AA/CHO) supplement to a mixed clinical meal (i.e., nasty hospital food) during bed rest (BR) and episodic hypercortisolemia. (Note: Remember that too much cortisol promotes gains in body fat and wasting of muscle tissue; however, it’s given to decrease inflammation). In the experimental (AA/CHO) and control groups, blood samples and vastus lateralis biopsy samples were obtained before (pre-BR) and after (post-BR) 28 days of bed rest (BR). Just think of that— 28 days of lying around. Muscle protein kinetics were calculated during the post-absorptive state for 2.5 hours after ingestion of a meal and for 2.5 hours after ingestion of an AA/CHO supplement (EXP) or placebo (CON). What did they find? Cumulative 5.5 hours of mixed muscle fractional synthetic rate was greater in the EXP group pre-BR and post-BR. According to the investigators, “Unlike a typical clinical meal, AA/CHO supplementation stimulated net muscle protein synthesis despite acute hypercortisolemia and prolonged inactivity.” 

What’s the moral of this story? Clearly, not all of us will succumb to an illness that requires a month of bed rest. But a real-life example would be if you came down with the flu and spent a good deal of time just sitting around, doing nothing, trying to recover. Well, certainly chicken soup is in order, but taking a high-quality protein or pure essential Amino Acids would be a great way to combat the catabolism associated with sitting on your ass for prolonged periods. Final score: supplements 1, hospital food 0.

      References
1.    Socas L, Zumbado M, Perez-Luzardo O, et al. Hepatocellular adenomas associated with anabolic androgenic steroid abuse in bodybuilders: a report of two cases and a review of the literature. Br J Sports Med, May 2005;39(5):e27.
2.    Cunha TS, Tanno AP, Costa Sampaio Moura MJ, Marcondes FK. Influence of high-intensity exercise training and anabolic androgenic steroid treatment on rat tissue glycogen content. Life Sci, Mar 31 2005.
3.    de la Torre Abril L, Ramada Benlloch F, Sanchez Ballester F, et al. [Management of male sterility in patients taking anabolic steroids]. Arch Esp Urol, Apr 2005;58(3):241-244.

STEPHEN: SAME BIO