The Dude
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
III. Androstenedione
TOP
ABSTRACT
I. Use of Suprapharmacologic Doses of...
II. Anabolic Steroids
III. Androstenedione
IV. Do Anabolic Steroids Increase Muscle...
V. Challenging the Conventional Wisdom:...
VI. Mechanism of Anabolic Effect in...
VI. Other Consequences of...
VII. Conclusions
REFERENCES
In the summer of 1998, baseball player Mark McGwire revealed that he took regular androstenedione supplements during the season that he set a new home run record. The first scientific study of the anabolic efficacy of androstenedione appeared shortly thereafter (King et al., 1999). This study showed that giving modest doses to untrained men who were started on an exercise program increased testosterone only transiently at the higher (i.e., 300-mg) dose but did not improve strength. However, it did increase plasma estradiol levels, a finding that was confirmed in a later study (Leder et al., 2000). That is, this study recapitulated the large number of negative studies in the literature that documented that such combinations of training and AAS were no more effective than training alone. This study has been replicated in older men using a similar design (Broeder et al., 2000). In this case, users took doses recommended by supplement manufacturers while they were engaged in resistance training. The results of both studies were similar: neither younger nor older subjects who received androstenedione showed greater increases in strength than those who received placebo, although circulating lipid profiles changed in the direction of greater cardiovascular risk (low-density to high-density lipoprotein/apolipoprotein A/apolipoprotein B) ratio. Since, at most, 10–15% of a dose is converted to testosterone, it is unlikely that regimens used by athletes will prove anabolic but the research has not been conducted. No published studies report effective anabolic activity of suprapharmacologic doses of androstenedione.
TOP
ABSTRACT
I. Use of Suprapharmacologic Doses of...
II. Anabolic Steroids
III. Androstenedione
IV. Do Anabolic Steroids Increase Muscle...
V. Challenging the Conventional Wisdom:...
VI. Mechanism of Anabolic Effect in...
VI. Other Consequences of...
VII. Conclusions
REFERENCES
In the summer of 1998, baseball player Mark McGwire revealed that he took regular androstenedione supplements during the season that he set a new home run record. The first scientific study of the anabolic efficacy of androstenedione appeared shortly thereafter (King et al., 1999). This study showed that giving modest doses to untrained men who were started on an exercise program increased testosterone only transiently at the higher (i.e., 300-mg) dose but did not improve strength. However, it did increase plasma estradiol levels, a finding that was confirmed in a later study (Leder et al., 2000). That is, this study recapitulated the large number of negative studies in the literature that documented that such combinations of training and AAS were no more effective than training alone. This study has been replicated in older men using a similar design (Broeder et al., 2000). In this case, users took doses recommended by supplement manufacturers while they were engaged in resistance training. The results of both studies were similar: neither younger nor older subjects who received androstenedione showed greater increases in strength than those who received placebo, although circulating lipid profiles changed in the direction of greater cardiovascular risk (low-density to high-density lipoprotein/apolipoprotein A/apolipoprotein B) ratio. Since, at most, 10–15% of a dose is converted to testosterone, it is unlikely that regimens used by athletes will prove anabolic but the research has not been conducted. No published studies report effective anabolic activity of suprapharmacologic doses of androstenedione.
