Muscle growth agents (Fitness drugs)

J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Jan;93(1):43-8. Epub 2005 Jan 25.
Effects of chronic anabolic steroid treatment on tonic and reflex cardiovascular control in male rats.
Beutel A, Bergamaschi CT, Campos RR.
Department of Physiology, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Paulista School of Medicine, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.

The aim of this study was to analyze the cardiovascular effects of chronic stanozolol administration in male rats. The rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) control (n=12), (2) chronic treatment with low dose of stanozolol (LD, n=18, 5mg/kgweek) and; (3) treatment with high dose of stanozolol (HD, n=28, 20mg/kgweek). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was higher in both HD (128+/-2.2mmHg) and LD (126+/-2.5mmHg) than control (116+/-2mmHg). The LD group showed an increase in cardiac output (control 121+/-2.5, LD 154+/-5.9ml/min), whereas in the HD group total peripheral resistance increased (control 1.03+/-0.07, HD 1.26+/-0.07mmHg/ml/min). Acute sympathetic blockade caused a similar decrease in MAP in all groups. In conscious rats, the baroreflex index for bradycardia (control -3.7+/-0.4, LD -2.0+/-0.1beat/mmHg) and tachycardia (control -3.6+/-0.3, LD -4.7+/-0.2beat/mmHg) responses changed only in the LD group. Cardiac hypertrophy was observed in both treated groups (P<0.05). In conclusion, hypertension with differential hemodynamic changes and alterations in the reflex control in heart rate is seen at different stanozolol doses, which may be important variables in the cardiovascular effects of anabolic steroids.

A 36-year-old man presented with hoarseness and stridor. He was an elite professional bodybuilder and admitted to having abusing anabolic steroids and growth hormone in the recent past. A CT scan showed bilateral laryngocoeles. The patient was initially managed with intravenous corticosteroids and broad-spectrum antibiotics, and the stridor resolved sufficiently to permit discharge from the hospital. He proceeded to undergo endoscopic marsupialisation of his laryngocoeles and to date has made a full recovery. This is the first reported case where anabolic steroid and growth hormone abuse combined with an elite bodybuilder's exercise regime has been implicated in the aetiology of bilateral laryngocoeles.

The term "anabolic steroids" refers to testosterone derivatives that are used either clinically or by athletes for their anabolic properties. However, scientists have questioned the anabolic effects of testosterone and its derivatives in normal men for decades. Most scientists concluded that anabolic steroids do not increase muscle size or strength in people with normal gonadal function and have discounted positive results as unduly influenced by positive expectations of athletes, inferior experimental design, or poor data analysis. There has been a tremendous disconnect between the conviction of athletes that these drugs are effective and the conviction of scientists that they aren't. In part, this disconnect results from the completely different dose regimens used by scientists to document the correction of deficiency states and by athletes striving to optimize athletic performance. Recently, careful scientific study of suprapharmacologic doses in clinical settings - including aging, human immunodeficiency virus, and other disease states - supports the efficacy of these regimens. However, the mechanism by which these doses act remains unclear. "Anabolism" is defined as any state in which nitrogen is differentially retained in lean body mass, either through stimulation of protein synthesis and/or decreased breakdown of protein anywhere in the body. Testosterone, the main gonadal steroid in males, has marked anabolic effects in addition to its effects on reproduction that are easily observed in developing boys and when hypogonadal men receive testosterone as replacement therapy. However, its efficacy in normal men, as during its use in athletes or in clinical situations in which men are eugonadal, has been debated. A growing literature suggests that use of suprapharmacologic doses can, indeed, be anabolic in certain situations; however, the clear identification of these situations and the mechanism by which anabolic effects occur are unclear. Furthermore, the pharmacology of "anabolism" is in its infancy: no drugs currently available are "purely" anabolic but all possess androgenic properties as well. The present review briefly recapitulates the historic literature about the androgenic/anabolic steroids and describes literature supporting the anabolic activity of these drugs in normal people, focusing on the use of suprapharmacologic doses by athletes and clinicians to achieve anabolic effects in normal humans. We will present the emerging literature that is beginning to explore more specific mechanisms that might mediate the effects of suprapharmacologic regimens. The terms anabolic/androgenic steroids will be used throughout to reflect the combined actions of all drugs that are currently available.

Sports Med. 1987 Mar-Apr;4(2):129-42.
Growth hormone and athletes.
Macintyre JG.

Growth hormone is a powerful anabolic hormone that affects all body systems and plays an important role in muscle growth. It is released from the anterior pituitary in response to a variety of stimuli including exercise, sleep, stress, and the administration of a variety of drugs and amino acids. Serum levels are variable and are dependent on such factors as age, sex, body composition and level of fitness. Animal experiments have shown that growth hormone can partially reverse surgically induced muscle atrophy and weakness. Growth hormone administration to normal animals leads to muscle hypertrophy, but this muscular growth is not accompanied by increased strength. Growth hormone excess leads to acromegaly, a disease with significant morbidity, including a myopathy in which muscles appear larger but are functionally weaker. Although there is no scientific evidence documenting an improvement in athletic performance following growth hormone supplementation, it is reported that this practice is becoming more widespread among athletes wishing to avoid detection with current doping control measures. There are anecdotal reports that athletes are injecting cadaveric or biosynthetic forms of growth hormone, both of which are associated with potentially serious complications. In addition, some athletes are ingesting drugs and amino acids in the belief that their endogenous growth hormone secretion will be increased. There have been no scientific studies on the effects of growth hormone supplementation, and the anecdotal reports have been equivocal, with some individuals reporting spectacular results while others report no change. Despite the lack of valid evidence for its efficacy and its potentially serious side effects, it has been predicted that growth hormone use may increase. Growth hormone use and abuse has the potential to dramatically change the future conduct of athletics and may prove to be a threat to the concept of fair competition.

Human growth hormone (GH) is widely abused as a performance-enhancing anabolic drug by athletes and bodybuilders. However, the effects of GH on skeletal muscle mass, strength and fibre composition remain unclear. We therefore summarize in the following the current knowledge on the physiological role of GH in the regulation of skeletal muscle growth and function and evaluate its potential therapeutic potency as a muscle anabolic hormone. In states of GH deficiency, reduced muscle mass and strength are characteristic findings which can be reversed successfully by the supplementation of GH. In contrast, the currently available data suggest that GH administration alone or in combination with strength exercise has little, if any, effect on muscle volume, strength and fibre composition in non-GH-deficient healthy young individuals. This assumption is supported by the lack of evidence for a significant performance-enhancing effect of GH in athletes. However, further studies will be necessary to define patient populations which might benefit from GH treatment like frail elderly individuals in whom a GH-induced change into a more youthful muscle fibre composition has been reported.