‘Andro’ Drug’s Benefit Minimal in Older Men

Men who are past their prime muscle-building years can’t count on androstenedione to help them build muscle, researchers say.

And the scientists say the supplement raises the risk of health problems.

Androstenedione supplements are made of a naturally occurring steroid hormone the body uses to make testosterone. And the supplement that had been used by home run king Mark McGwire did raise levels of testosterone, one study found. But “andro” didn’t raise testosterone levels enough to trigger the male hormone’s muscle-building capacity in men ages 30 to 56, it said.

Meanwhile, levels of the beneficial form of cholesterol known as HDL fell, the study said.

“If it is a builder of muscle at all, it is extremely weak,” said Douglas S. King of Iowa State University, lead author of the report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. “I would be surprised if we could measure an increase in size or strength.”

King and his colleagues looked at blood samples taken once a week over 28 days from 27 men who took 100-milligram capsules of andro three times a day. Results from the men on andro were compared with those of 28 men who were given inactive substitutes.

The men on andro developed increases of 40% to 50% in free testosterone levels in their blood, the study found. However, earlier research indicates men have to more than double their levels of this active form of testosterone before supplementation can let them build more muscle, King said.

In a similar study, men 35 to 65 years of age showed no benefit from andro even when they did high-intensity strength training. The men, who took 200 milligrams a day over the 12-week program, had an increase in testosterone in the first four weeks, but had returned to baseline levels after 12 weeks.

The low doses and the short study period may explain why andro provided no training edge, said Craig Broeder of East Tennessee State University, lead author of the report in the American Medical Assn.’s Archives of Internal Medicine. The tendency to revert to normal hormone levels apparently prevailed, he said.

After controversy began to swirl over his use of andro, McGwire said he had given up the stuff. And as for McGwire’s record-setting 70 home runs in 1998, andro probably had nothing to do with it, King said. Even if the St. Louis Cardinal had somehow developed more muscle from andro, “there’s a lot more to hitting a 95 mph fastball out of the park than how strong you are,” he said.

Instead of a muscle-building benefit, the men on andro got some hormonal and cholesterol negatives, the study found.

Levels of dihydrotestosterone, which can cause the prostate to enlarge, rose by up to 110%, the study said. However, in the short study period, there was no change in prostate-specific antigen, a substance that is a marker for enlarged prostate and prostate cancer.

And levels of HDL, which fights the buildup of artery-clogging plaques, went down by 10%, the study found. The researchers say the reduced levels of HDL have been linked in other research to increases of 10% to 15% in heart attack risk. “That’s not a huge effect, but it’s likely to be significant,” King said.

Taking 100 milligrams of andro three times a day is unlikely to promote muscle growth and may make the user’s health worse, the study concluded.

The study was funded by a supplement company, Experimental and Applied Sciences. Its publication comes as federal officials consider whether andro--currently sold in stores and on the Internet--should be listed as a controlled substance as steroids are, available only by closely tracked prescriptions.

But to be listed as a restricted muscle-builder, the government would have to find that andro actually helps to build muscle, said Frank Uryasz of the National Center for Drug Free Sport. It’s possible that muscle gains would result from higher doses than those in this study, and athletes might take those doses, he said. However, among cases he’s seen, 300 milligrams was not uncommon, he said.

But because of andro’s negative effects on cholesterol, the substance should be removed from the over-the-counter market and reclassified as a prescription drug, Broeder said.

Andro’s ability to raise levels of estradiol, which can make breast tissue grow in men, is another powerful argument for making the supplement prescription-only, said Dr. Gary I. Wadler, a sports drug expert at New York University School of Medicine.