scholarly journals Androstenedione (a Natural Steroid and a Drug Supplement): A Comprehensive Review of Its Consumption, Metabolism, Health Effects, and Toxicity with Sex Differences

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (20) ◽  
pp. 6210
Author(s):  
Marwa T. Badawy ◽  
Mansour Sobeh ◽  
Jianbo Xiao ◽  
Mohamed A. Farag
Keyword(s):  
Health Effects ◽  
Athletic Performance ◽  
Adrenal Glands ◽  
Anabolic Steroids ◽  
Sexual Performance ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
World Anti Doping Agency ◽  
Performance Enhancing Drugs ◽  
Oral Supplement

Androstenedione is a steroidal hormone produced in male and female gonads, as well as in the adrenal glands, and it is known for its key role in the production of estrogen and testosterone. Androstenedione is also sold as an oral supplement, that is being utilized to increase testosterone levels. Simply known as “andro” by athletes, it is commonly touted as a natural alternative to anabolic steroids. By boosting testosterone levels, it is thought to be an enhancer for athletic performance, build body muscles, reduce fats, increase energy, maintain healthy RBCs, and increase sexual performance. Nevertheless, several of these effects are not yet scientifically proven. Though commonly used as a supplement for body building, it is listed among performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, as well as the International Olympic Committee. This review focuses on the action mechanism behind androstenedione’s health effects, and further side effects including clinical features, populations at risk, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and toxicokinetics. A review of androstenedione regulation in drug doping is also presented.

scholarly journals The Cardiac Effects of Performance-Enhancing Medications: Caffeine vs. Anabolic Steroids

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Sivalokanathan ◽  
Łukasz Małek ◽  
Aneil Malhotra
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Risk ◽  
Anabolic Steroids ◽  
Muscle Growth ◽  
Cardiovascular Effects ◽  
The World ◽  
World Anti Doping Agency ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Performance Enhancing Drugs ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Performance Enhancing

Several performance-enhancing or ergogenic drugs have been linked to both significant adverse cardiovascular effects and increased cardiovascular risk. Even with increased scrutiny on the governance of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in professional sport and heightened awareness of the associated cardiovascular risk, there are some who are prepared to risk their use to gain competitive advantage. Caffeine is the most commonly consumed drug in the world and its ergogenic properties have been reported for decades. Thus, the removal of caffeine from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances, in 2004, has naturally led to an exponential rise in its use amongst athletes. The response to caffeine is complex and influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Whilst the evidence may be equivocal, the ability of an athlete to train longer or at a greater power output cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, its impact on the myocardium remains unanswered. In contrast, anabolic steroids are recognised PEDs that improve athletic performance, increase muscle growth and suppress fatigue. Their use, however, comes at a cost, afflicting the individual with several side effects, including those that are detrimental to the cardiovascular system. This review addresses the effects of the two commonest PEDs, one legal, the other prohibited, and their respective effects on the heart, as well as the long-term implications.

scholarly journals Effects of competitive sports on temporomandibular dysfunction: a literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-65
Author(s):  
Hannah Charlotte Freiwald ◽  
Nico Peter Schwarzbach ◽  
Anne Wolowski
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Athletic Performance ◽  
Anabolic Steroids ◽  
German Society ◽  
Competitive Sports ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Temporomandibular Dysfunction ◽  
Competitive Athletes ◽  
Methodological Procedures ◽  
Everyday Stress

Abstract Objectives The German Society of Craniomandibular Function and Disorders recommends that patients suffering from temporomandibular dysfunctions should practice sports in order to compensate for everyday stress. This raises the question as to what extent competitive athletes develop temporomandibular dysfunctions or whether their athletic activities protect them. With the present literature review, the authors intend to give an overview of the currently available publications on this topic. Materials and methods A literature research in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases was performed to filter out the currently available publications on the topic ‚sports, and temporomandibular dysfunction. Results Out of 114 available articles, seven met the inclusion criteria. Two other relevant articles were found in the list of references, so that in total, nine publications were picked for the review. In case numbers ranging from eight to 347 subjects, a temporomandibular dysfunction was detected with a prevalence between 11.7% and 100% for athletes and between 11.11% and 14.3% for non-athletes. Different kinds of sports were evaluated, all of them contact sports: basketball, handball, wrestling, boxing, karate, mixed martial arts, field hockey, water polo, and soccer. One study compared athletes with and without consumption of anabolic steroids, regardless of the type of sport. The level of athletic performance varied across the different studies. Conclusions Currently, studies dealing with the effect of competitive sports on temporomandibular dysfunction are scarce. Inconsistent methodological procedures permit only limited comparability. Clinical relevance A general trend, however, can already be discerned: professional athletes suffer from temporomandibular dysfunctions more frequently than non-athletes.

The spirit of sport, morality, and hypoxic tents: logic and authenticity

2007 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Cruise Malloy ◽  
Robert Kell ◽  
Rod Kelln
Keyword(s):  
Athletic Training ◽  
Athletic Performance ◽  
Aerobic Performance ◽  
Altitude Training ◽  
Blood Doping ◽  
Hypoxic Environment ◽  
Moral Behaviour ◽  
World Anti Doping Agency ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
Spirit Of Sport

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has recently made a decision to allow the use of hypoxic tents amid a significant amount of controversy over the morality of their use for athletic training purposes. Currently, altitude training is considered moral, but other means of improving aerobic performance are not; for example, blood doping. Altitude training and blood doping have similar results, but the methods by which the results are achieved differ greatly. The controversy lies in how the use of a hypoxic device falls within WADA’s philosophy, which will then dictate future policy. This paper discusses the influence of a hypoxic environment on human physiology, altitude training’s influence on athletic performance, the concept of authentic physiology, and moral behaviour that is the foundation for logical debate.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) list of prohibited substances and methods and their cardiovascular effects

2019 ◽  
pp. 427-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Niebauer ◽  
Carl Johan Sundberg
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Sports Medicine ◽  
Anabolic Steroids ◽  
Cardiovascular Effects ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Cardiovascular Side Effects ◽  
World Anti Doping Agency ◽  
Artery Disease ◽  
Androgenic Anabolic Steroids ◽  
Sports Sciences

The abuse of doping substances is prevalent in sports and in society at large. Doping substances are also present in a substantial fraction of nutritional supplements. They can cause severe side effects. This chapter is focused on cardiovascular side effects. Androgenic anabolic steroids can induce left ventricular hypertrophy, heart fibrosis, and systolic and diastolic dysfunction, and has been associated with dyslipidaemia, endothelial dysfunction, and coronary artery disease. Beta-2 agonists can induce chronotropic and inotropic effects, QT prolongation, palpitations, arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Erythropoietin can induce hypertension and embolism. Use of banned substances and methods in sports, i.e. doping, is prohibited, unethical, and dangerous. Research efforts in sports sciences and sports medicine are needed to prevent and treat doping abuse and to help athletes be successful without the need for doping.

Doping knowledge and doping attitudes in competitive bodybuilding

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dora Marić ◽  
Šime Veršić ◽  
Šimun Vasilj
Keyword(s):  
Anabolic Steroids ◽  
Objective Knowledge ◽  
Active Lifestyle ◽  
Subjective Knowledge ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
Knowl Edge ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
World Anti Doping Agency ◽  
Mainstream Society

Purpose: Bodybuilding becomes more visible and acceptable within mainstream society thanks to social media, which is promoting, and developing grooving interest in bodies, fit-ness and active lifestyle. However, this is concerning knowing that according to the latest world anti-doping agency report bodybuilding is one of two sports with the highest number of Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) committed by athletes. This study aimed to evaluate doping attitudes and correlates of doping attitudes in top level body builders. Methods: Study included 26 competitive bodybuilders form Croatia. Variables were collect-ed by a previously validated Questionnaire of Substance Use (QSU). Statistical procedures included means and standard deviations (for parametric variables), frequencies and percent-ages (for ordinal and nominal variables). Spearman’s correlations were calculated to deter-mine associations between studied variables. Results: The most positive attitudes are found towards injectable anabolic steroids (mean ± standard deviation; 4.00 ± 1.52), followed by fat burners (3.73 ± 1.46), growth hormone (3.69 ± 1.64), and estrogen blockers (3.60 ± 1.22), oral anabolic steroids (3.58 ± 1.27). Sig-nificant correlation was identified between: (i) result achieved in bodybuilding (RBB) and alcohol consumption, (R= -0.57 p < 0.05) (ii) RBB and subjective knowledge on nutrition (R=0.66, p < 0.05), (iii) RBB and subjective knowledge on doping (R=0.72, p < 0.05). Conclusion: The lack of correlation between self-perceived competence and objectively eval-uated knowledge on nutrition is alarming due to the possible “anchoring effect”, accordingly even though objective knowledge is not correlated with attitudes towards doping substances, it is important to properly educate athletes who are in the misconception of their true knowl-edge.

scholarly journals Does facial width-to-height ratio predict Japanese professional football players’ athletic performance?

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayuki Fujii ◽  
Akira Goto ◽  
Haruto Takagishi
Keyword(s):  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Athletic Performance ◽  
Football Players ◽  
Professional Football ◽  
Height Ratio ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
The Relationship

A number of studies have shown that facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR)—the distance between the two zygomatic arches (width) compared with the distance from the top of the lip to the bottom of the eyebrows (height)—is related to aggressive behavior and is reflective of testosterone levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fWHR and the athletic performance of Japanese professional football players. Photographs of 343 Japanese professional football players were measured for fWHR and compared with the number of penalty cards (yellow and red) acquired by players and goals scored in the 2012 season. The results showed that fWHR was not associated with the number of goals scored in any football position. However, the number of penalty cards acquired was associated with fWHR in the forward offensive position. These findings showed that fWHR is not related to goals scored by Japanese football players, but is related to the penalty cards acquired in the offensive domain.

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