DefMetalLifter
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
Designer Steroids: In 1987, Ben Johnson set the world record for the 100 meters with a remarkable time of 9.83 seconds, and set it again in the ’88 Olympics with a time of 9.79. You may remember the international uproar shortly after he won the Olympic gold medal, when he tested positive for steroids (stanozolol) and was stripped of both world records. Ben will unfortunately go down in history as the 20th century poster boy for the consequences of cheating, and not as one of our greatest athletes as he rightly should. This incident subsequently changed the perceptions of the American public forever, which now immediately looks at exceptional performances like his with suspicion (hell, how else could he have been so fast?). Those of us privy to what happens in the real world, however, know full well that performance enhancement is an integral part of competitive physical sports. Ben was most certainly not the isolated bad guy, and in all likelihood was simply the guy who mEssed up in his drug planning (no outright accusations here). I believe Dan Duchaine mentioned once that stanozolol was not being tested for in the Olympics four years earlier, and suggested that Ben simply may have not been informed that it was detectable in 1988. He wasn’t using the right steroid at the time. They were looking for the one he was taking. When I first read this I immediately thought to myself, “Well, are there any steroids not being tested for today? Or better yet, could someone make a steroid that could never be detected at all?” Knowing What to Look For: Dan’s suggestions, and perhaps Ben’s situation, illustrate well a fundamental point about drug testing In order to test someone for anabolic steroids, you need to know exactly what you are looking for; exactly what is in the body that doesn’t belong there. You can’t just look for steroids in general. You’re forced to test for each specific compound individually. And to make things even more complicated with these drugs, we need to know more than just what they look like chemically. We need to know just what they are going to look like by the time they appear in the urine, because the original steroids themselves will often appear only in very small amounts (they are largely metabolized by the body before excretion). For example, nandrolone use is most easily detected by looking for its major metabolites 19-norandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone.[1] With this in mind, you need to investigate each potential steroid of “misuse” closely, examining what it looks like when it comes out in the urine and developing a plan of detection based on this. And indeed the past couple of decades have seen a lot of progress in identifying the metabolites unique to pretty much all of the commercially available synthetic steroids, and as a result, they are now easily detected in a urine sample. Designer SteroidsBut, during the heyday of steroid research, several hundred (if not 1,000 or more) different steroids were synthesized and investigated in the lab. Their anabolic and androgenic potencies were measured via the same standard assays that were used to evaluate virtually all steroids. Only a minute fraction ultimately became commercially available drug products, leaving many potentially good steroids by the wayside. A good number even tested out to be considerably more potent than the standard “bulking” agents of today such as Anadrol, testosterone and Dianabol. This is to be expected in any area of drug research though, as there would be no way for hundreds of similar drugs to exist in the same market. As more steroids became available, the financial motivation for companies to invest in new ones disappeared very rapidly. But, the early research is still out there, and remains a very valuable source of information today for the clever chemist. Some of these old research steroids of the ‘50s and ‘60s exist in today’s reality, and are referred to collectively as “Designer Steroids.” They are here only because someone was able to privately synthesize them, and were made for the specific purpose of defeating a drug screen. A true designer steroid is structurally unique next to the known anabolic/androgenic steroids, sharing no common metabolites so as to be undetectable on even the most thorough steroid test. The thought of tracking down metabolites for all possible steroid compounds, to eliminate the designer steroid issue, seems like an impossible task to say the least. Even if somehow this old research were to be exhausted and metabolites identified on all known steroids, there are nearly limitless ways to alter testosterone, nandrolone or dihydrotestosterone to make unique new steroids. The designer steroid phenomena could obviously present an overwhelming problem to the sports organizations given present drug testing methods. The athletes could easily stay one or two steps ahead, and nobody on the sidelines would be the wiser. NorbolethoneAt this point in time, the fact that designer steroids exist is no secret to the sports agencies. They became painfully obvious to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) early this year, when the UCLA Olympic Analytical Lab detected norbolethone, a potent c-17 alpha alkylated nandrolone derivative investigated back in the 1960s, in the urine samples from two female athletes.[2] The first competitor to fail turned out to be Tammy Thomas, a 32-year-old cyclist from Colorado Springs. This was the second time she failed a drug test actually, which resulted in a lifetime ban from competition. The second positive result was obtained from a much older sample, collected in August, 2001, and already been reported as clean. It was only found because the investigators decided to go back through several older samples that had been flagged for extremely low endogenous steroid concentrations (suggesting suppression from exogenous steroid administration), to see if norbolethone had been used by any of these athletes. The fact that only one of these samples retroactively tested positive may suggest that other designer steroids were being used by competitors in addition to norbolethone. No mention was made of why the lab decided to start looking for norbolethone in the first place, but we do know that they were able to obtain a sample of pure norbolethone from the drug company Wyeth. And we can assume that they were greatly aided by the fact that metabolites of this steroid had been identified in earlier studies.[3] Their successful efforts presented an immediate and obviously serious problem to the IOC, because norbolethone is not found anywhere in the world as a commercial steroid. It illustrated clearly, and for the first time publicly, that underground designer steroids were indeed very much a reality. The researchers close the paper by stating, “Discovering an unmarketed steroid last known to have been given to humans in a clinical trial over 30 years ago raises an interesting question. What is the source of this steroid today? It is quite unlikely that a supply of norbolethone remains from the few clinical studies conducted between 1964 and 1972. Thus, someone or some organization with synthetic chemical expertise could be preparing norbolethone.” The problems designer steroids present to the sports organizations are likewise very apparent. If someone is capable of producing norbolethone, we can no doubt expect they are capable of producing many other unidentifiable compounds, as well. In ConclusionThe procedure for norbolethone detection has now been elucidated, and unfortunately for the underground maker of this steroid, the compound is now on the list of those unsafe for competition. Its value as a “designer steroid” has likewise disappeared. While it does seem to be a victory at first glance for the IOC, with a much closer look it actually underlines the failings in steroid testing methods. We know that many other potent compounds are out there, either in the books or in the gym bags of the competitors. It may take years for the next designer steroid to be identified and rendered detectable, and once it has, perhaps in only a matter of days or weeks a new one will be synthesized. It is a game the drug testers simply cannot win. It is unfortunate, but Tammy seems to have found herself in a situation that may have been very much like Ben Johnson’s. She had been using a compound that was believed to be totally invisible, only to later find out that the lab was able to detect it. While we may see repeats of this type of thing in the future, such events will only exemplify the proficiency of those working against drug testing, and the unshakable will of the athletes to use these agents. Situations like Tammy’s demonstrate a victory, but it is ultimately a victory for the athletes, not the governing bodies. References
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[1] Detection of nandrolone metabolites in urine after a football game in professional and amateur players: a Bayesian comparison. Robinson N, Taroni F, Saugy M, Ayotte C, Mangin P, Dvorak J. Forensic Sci Int 2001 Nov 1;122(2-3):130-5
[2] Detection of norbolethone, an anabolic steroid never marketed, in athletes’ urine. Catlin D, Ahrens B, Kucherova Y. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2002; 16: 1273-75
[3] Schanzer W, Donike M. Anal Chim. Acta. 1993; 275: 23 Black Market UpdateBy William Llewellyn Pictured this month is a very good-looking counterfeit of one of the more popular anabolic steroids from Spain, Primobolan. This particular fake is quite advanced from the many others to precede it, which normally are found on the U.S. black market only in the form of loose ampoules. This one is found not only as a good-looking ampoule, but it is accompanied by a decent looking box, ampoule tray and package insert. To the average black market buyer this one is not going to be very easy to spot. It does stand out as a fake for a few reasons though, so if you know what to look for you should be able to spot it. To begin with, it is copying the old- looking ampoules, which use dark brown glass, silk screen labeling (printed directly on the glass) and a single blue dot on the ampoule head. Last year, Schering revamped its packaging considerably, with the new Spanish Primo now found to bear a clear glass ampoule, paper label and colored rings instead of a blue dot. Look for these exclusively now. Also, the ink on the box for this fake is a bit duller in comparison to the sharper looking original Spanish box. The tear-off Spanish drug ID tag also uses much smaller perforation marks; however you will probably need a legitimate box to view side by side for this to be noticeable. Also pictured this month is a box of testosterone enanthate from Italy. It’s called Testo Enant, and is produced by the drug firm Geymonat. Each ampoule of Testo contains the typical 250mg/ml dose, and comes one ampoule per box. This particular item is not common on the U.S. black market, as seems to be the case with all Italian steroids these days. In fact, word has it that some of the more popular Italian drugs have been removed from the market, including both the oral and injectable forms of Winstrol and the once extremely popular Oxandrolone (for quite some time this was the only legitimate source for Anavar anywhere in the world). Thankfully, now, new versions of Oxandrolone have popped up in Mexico, probably to cash in on the very high demand U.S. athletes have always had for this mild anabolic steroid. Getting back to Italy’s Testo Enant, this item currently can currently be trusted, as no fakes are known to exist. For added assurance, just be sure yours contains the proper red and black Italian drug ID sticker affixed to the back of the box. -WL
Written by William Llewellyn
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[1] Detection of nandrolone metabolites in urine after a football game in professional and amateur players: a Bayesian comparison. Robinson N, Taroni F, Saugy M, Ayotte C, Mangin P, Dvorak J. Forensic Sci Int 2001 Nov 1;122(2-3):130-5
[2] Detection of norbolethone, an anabolic steroid never marketed, in athletes’ urine. Catlin D, Ahrens B, Kucherova Y. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2002; 16: 1273-75
[3] Schanzer W, Donike M. Anal Chim. Acta. 1993; 275: 23 Black Market UpdateBy William Llewellyn Pictured this month is a very good-looking counterfeit of one of the more popular anabolic steroids from Spain, Primobolan. This particular fake is quite advanced from the many others to precede it, which normally are found on the U.S. black market only in the form of loose ampoules. This one is found not only as a good-looking ampoule, but it is accompanied by a decent looking box, ampoule tray and package insert. To the average black market buyer this one is not going to be very easy to spot. It does stand out as a fake for a few reasons though, so if you know what to look for you should be able to spot it. To begin with, it is copying the old- looking ampoules, which use dark brown glass, silk screen labeling (printed directly on the glass) and a single blue dot on the ampoule head. Last year, Schering revamped its packaging considerably, with the new Spanish Primo now found to bear a clear glass ampoule, paper label and colored rings instead of a blue dot. Look for these exclusively now. Also, the ink on the box for this fake is a bit duller in comparison to the sharper looking original Spanish box. The tear-off Spanish drug ID tag also uses much smaller perforation marks; however you will probably need a legitimate box to view side by side for this to be noticeable. Also pictured this month is a box of testosterone enanthate from Italy. It’s called Testo Enant, and is produced by the drug firm Geymonat. Each ampoule of Testo contains the typical 250mg/ml dose, and comes one ampoule per box. This particular item is not common on the U.S. black market, as seems to be the case with all Italian steroids these days. In fact, word has it that some of the more popular Italian drugs have been removed from the market, including both the oral and injectable forms of Winstrol and the once extremely popular Oxandrolone (for quite some time this was the only legitimate source for Anavar anywhere in the world). Thankfully, now, new versions of Oxandrolone have popped up in Mexico, probably to cash in on the very high demand U.S. athletes have always had for this mild anabolic steroid. Getting back to Italy’s Testo Enant, this item currently can currently be trusted, as no fakes are known to exist. For added assurance, just be sure yours contains the proper red and black Italian drug ID sticker affixed to the back of the box. -WL
Written by William Llewellyn
