A study revealed that taking anabolic steroids to build muscle can leave men with long-term impairment of testicular function.
Researchers in Copenhagen, Denmark, tracked a biomarker of testicular function in the blood of current and former anabolic steroid users.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic drugs that mimic the effects of the male hormone testosterone, and their abuse is widespread among athletes around the world.
The lowest “biomarker” levels were detected in men who were using steroids at the time of the blood test – but previous users, some of whom had not taken steroids for 32 months, also had lower levels of steroids.
The biomarker is produced by cells in the testicles that also produce the hormone testosterone, indicating that anabolic steroids “are constantly weakening their capacity”.
And low testosterone can lead to decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction and low sperm count.
Study author John J. Rasmussen, at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark: “The debate continues over whether the illegal use of anabolic steroids causes a long-term deficiency of testosterone.”
Some anabolic steroids are taken orally, while others are injected into the muscles or provided in gels or creams.
read more
Some people use steroids over the counter to improve athletic performance or get a more muscular appearance.
And in professional sports, most organizations ban anabolic steroid use, and test competitors for the effects of anabolic steroids and other anabolic steroids.
Common side effects of anabolic steroids in men include breast growth, hair loss, shrinking of the testicles and low levels of the hormone testosterone, also known as hypogonadism.
Hypogonadism can cause low sex drive, erectile dysfunction and low sperm count.
In the study, researchers investigated the effect of anabolic steroids on testicular function using a new biological marker called insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3), a peptide hormone secreted by Leydig cells in the testicles. Leydig cells also produce testosterone.
INSL3 is a promising biological marker for testicular function – and it may even be a more stable marker than testosterone. This is because blood testosterone levels can vary greatly during the day, and vary according to body composition.
The team recruited 132 men who did some form of recreational strength training. Their ages ranged from 18 to 50, with a mean of 32 years.
INSL3 was measured from serum – the clear, pale yellow fluid that separates from the clot into blood clotting.
Among current steroid users, INSL3 was significantly suppressed compared to previous users and never users.
Current users had an average of 0.04 mcg of INSL3 per liter of blood. Previous steroid users had 0.39 mcg versus 0.59 mcg per liter, while users did not have 0.59 mcg per liter.
The researchers found that the longer the men used steroids, the lower their INSL3 levels.
Low INSL3 levels indicate that the Leydig cell’s capacity is consistently impaired, which in turn indicates decreased testicular function.
A clinically relevant difference in INSL3 levels is not yet known, but the results suggest that former steroid users may have an increased risk of developing hypogonadism later in life.
“The results raise the question of whether some former anabolic steroid users should receive medical stimulation therapy to increase the capacity of Leydig cells in the testicles,” Rasmussen said.
He indicated that this treatment would include drugs used to prevent the production of estrogen or converting it into testosterone, such as aromatase inhibitors and selective estrogen receptor modulators.
The study has been published in Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Source: Daily Mail
Source link