By William Llewellyn
Oxandrolone (Anavar, Oxandrin) is one of only a few oral anabolic steroids prescribed in the United States. Yet, despite a long, albeit sporadic, history on the American drug market, it hasn’t been one of the most widely studied anabolic agents. A great deal is known about it and of course, it was studied long enough to gain FDA approval. But at the same time, there haven’t been a great many detailed, large-population studies on it. Studies on things like dose-dependent effects on lipids, hormones, hepatic enzymes and lean muscle growth have been completed, but are still wanting in number. A complete picture of this drug’s properties is lacking to some extent, especially when it comes to realistic “bodybuilding” dosages, only adding to misunderstandings about this agent. Let’s take a closer look at oxandrolone, or more specifically a study that I believe will help shed more light on this very interesting anabolic.
The Study
The study I’m speaking of was published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It stands out from the many others coming before it for a few reasons. For one, it uses a very large population of subjects. There were over 260 men participating in this investigation – fairly large by most standards. Secondly, the doses used were quite realistic in a bodybuilding sense. The lowest amount taken was 20 milligrams daily for 12 weeks, far better than the 5 to 15 milligrams most often used in a clinical setting. The other dosage groups were even higher, at 40 milligrams and 80 milligrams per day. This makes the high end of the study a realistic threshold that bodybuilders can relate to (doses of 20 to 40 milligrams are most commonly used for bodybuilding purposes, in fact). We, likewise, aren’t left making guesses about what will happen to us based on results with low doses and short durations. Lastly, this study looks at a number of very important biological markers, including testosterone production, liver stress and lipid alterations.
Testosterone Suppression
The idea that oxandrolone doesn’t suppress testosterone production has been a very persistent one. It’s often considered to be in a different class than most other steroids in this regard, but this simply isn’t true. I’m not actually sure where it came from, because even short-term studies with oxandrolone (several days) tend to notice significant suppression of natural testosterone production. This study is, of course, no exception. Here, 12 weeks of either 20 milligrams or 40 milligrams daily seemed to produce a similar effect, which was an approximate 45 percent reduction in serum testosterone. The decline increased sharply with the 80-milligram dose, which caused a 66 percent decrease in testosterone levels. Similar trends of decrease were noticed in LH production, with the 20-milligram and 40-milligram doses causing a 25 to 30 percent reduction and the 80-milligram group noticing a decline of more than 50 percent. Clearly, oxandrolone isn’t immune to suppressing androgen production and is most certainly not a drug to “bridge” cycles with.
Liver Enzymes
During the 12 weeks of use, no significant changes were seen in subjects taking oxandrolone in the following markers of liver function: serum albumin, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and gamma-glutamyl transferase. However, there was a dose-dependant increase in AST and ALT levels for all groups taking oxandrolone. AST increases reached a significant level with the 80-milligram group, while ALT elevations reached a significant level with both the 40-milligram and 80-milligram group. Grade III and IV liver toxicity (according to World Health Organization guidelines) was noted in two of 60 patients in the 20-milligram group, six of 61 (approximately 10 percent) patients in the 40-milligram group and nine of 61 subjects (approximately 15 percent) in the 80-milligram group. Three subjects in the 40-milligram group and four subjects in the 80-milligram group had to be withdrawn from the trial due to the increases. Overall, oxandrolone was well tolerated for most patients, although several subjects in the higher dose groups experienced measurable liver toxicity.
Blood Lipids
There were no significant changes in serum levels of triglycerides or total cholesterol in any of the subjects taking oxandrolone, even at the 80-milligram dose. There was a slight decrease in triglycerides with the 20-milligram group, but the trend wasn’t deemed strong enough to be called significant. Although total cholesterol didn’t change much, HDL (good) cholesterol was significantly decreased in all subjects taking oxandrolone. The reduction was approximately 30 to 33 percent in the 20-milligram and 40-milligram groups, while the change increased to 50 percent in the 80-milligram group. LDL (bad) cholesterol didn’t change significantly in the 20-milligram group, but did increase in the 40-milligram and 80-milligram group. These increases were approximately 27 percent and 30 percent over baseline, respectively. The HDL to LDL cholesterol ratio is considered much more important as a predictor of cardiovascular health than total cholesterol. All of the groups taking oxandrolone noticed changes in this ratio, which would seem to increase the risk of heart disease.
Muscle Gains
Gains in lean mass, body fat, intracellular and extracellular water retention were recorded over the 12 weeks of the study. There’s one major issue with interpreting this data, however, in that the subjects weren’t undergoing a resistance-training program. This, of course, is vital for any anabolic steroid to live out its full potential. The data, however, does allow us some level of comparison, but shouldn’t be taken seriously in terms of expected effects for bodybuilders. Over the 12 weeks, the 20-milligram group gained an average of 2 pounds of lean tissue, the 40-milligram group 3.3 pounds and the 80-milligram group added about 4 pounds. There were no significant changes in fat mass or extracellular water retention between groups. Oddly, the 40-milligram group noticed a slight trend toward increased fat mass, but it didn’t reach a point of statistical significance. The numbers and general outcome, of course, are expected to be far different when healthy bodybuilders take the drug.
In Closing
The above-cited study is perhaps one of the larger and more comprehensive looks at oxandrolone. Admittedly, it makes use of a population suffering from the loss of lean body mass associated with AIDS infection, an illness that can have an effect on many systems in the body. The data and interpretations may, therefore, not be 100 percent relevant to every situation outside of AIDS-associated wasting treatment. Still, the large population and comprehensive testing tell us quite a bit. We can walk away with a few points of relevant understanding. First, oxandrolone suppresses endogenous testosterone production fairly well. All attempts at “Anavar bridging” should, likewise, be dropped. Next, though this is indeed a “mild” steroid compared to some other c-17alpha-alkylated orals, recognized liver toxicity was recorded in 10 to 15 percent of subjects taking 40 to 80 milligrams per day. This figure isn’t so low that it should be ignored. Lastly, oxandrolone is expected to alter lipids in a negative (atherogenic) direction. The effect in this regard is going to be much stronger than that of an injectable testosterone or nandrolone, so cardiovascular risk factors should be taken seriously, especially with regular use.
William Llewellyn is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the use of performance-enhancing substances. He is the author of the bestselling anabolic steroid reference guide ANABOLICS and CEO of Molecular Nutrition. William is an accomplished researcher/developer in the field of anabolic substances, and is also a longtime advocate for harm reduction and legislative change. He built the website anabolic.org, an extensive online database of information on anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
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