Nandrolone decanoate

Nandrolone decanoate is an anabolic steroid used in doping.

In Vivo:Nandrolone decanoate has beneficial effects on weight, lean body mass and quality of life in selected patients who have mild to moderate HIV wasting.

Nandrolone decanoate administration does not attenuate muscle atrophy during a short period of disuse.[Pubmed:30689637]

PLoS One. 2019 Jan 28;14(1):e0210823.

BACKGROUND: A few days of bed rest or immobilization following injury, disease, or surgery can lead to considerable loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. It has been speculated that such short, successive periods of muscle disuse may be largely responsible for the age-related loss of muscle mass throughout the lifespan. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether a single intramuscular injection of Nandrolone decanoate prior to immobilization can attenuate the loss of muscle mass and strength in vivo in humans. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Thirty healthy (22 +/- 1 years) men were subjected to 7 days of one-legged knee immobilization by means of a full leg cast with (NAD, n = 15) or without (CON, n = 15) prior intramuscular Nandrolone decanoate injection (200 mg). MEASURES: Before and immediately after immobilization, quadriceps muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) (by means of single-slice computed tomography (CT) scans of the upper leg) and one-legged knee extension strength (one-repetition maximum [1-RM]) were assessed for both legs. Furthermore, muscle biopsies from the immobilized leg were taken before and after immobilization to assess type I and type II muscle fiber cross-sectional area. RESULTS: Quadriceps muscle CSA decreased during immobilization in both CON and NAD (-6 +/- 1% and -6 +/- 1%, respectively; main effect of time P<0.01), with no differences between the groups (time x treatment interaction, P = 0.59). Leg muscle strength declined following immobilization (-6 +/- 2% in CON and -7 +/- 3% in NAD; main effect of time, P<0.05), with no differences between groups (time x treatment interaction, P = 0.55). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to report that Nandrolone decanoate administration does not preserve skeletal muscle mass and strength during a short period of leg immobilization in vivo in humans.

Possible Protective Role of Whey Protein on the Rat's Liver Tissues Treated with Nandrolone decanoate.[Pubmed:30311477]

Pak J Biol Sci. 2018 Jan;21(6):262-274.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Nandrolone and whey protein are used as supplementary food and athletic food. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible histological and ultrastructural alterations in the liver of adult rats after treatment of the anabolic androgenic steroids (Nandrolone decanoate) and whey protein. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty eight Wistar Albino male rats were used in the present study divided into 4 groups: Control group received 0.5 mL of saline solution by oral, Nandrolone group injected intramuscular (10 mg kg-1 b.wt./week for 3 months), whey protein group treated by oral (5 mg kg-1 b.wt./week for 3 months) and Nandrolone and whey protein group. At the end of the experimentation, all the rats were sacrificed and liver samples were processed for histological and ultrastructural examination. Haematoxylin and eosin stains for general histological examination and Mallory trichrome stain for collagen fibers. RESULTS: Light microscopy examination of the liver of the nandrolone group showed bleeding and widening of the blood sinusoids. Degeneration, vacuolation, coagulative necrosis and pyknotic nuclei were observed. In addition, increased collagen fibers were detected. Whey protein group showed more or less normal hepatocytes, blood sinusoids and collagen fibers. The nandrolone and whey protein group illustrated normal appearance of hepatocytes with vacuolation in some of the hepatocytes and normal blood sinusoids and collagen fibers were noticed. Electron microscopic examination of the nandrolone group showed depletion of the nuclear chromatin, damaged mitochondria, increased of lysosomes, some lipid droplets, damaged blood sinusoids and space of Disse and increased of Kupffer cells, whereas the whey protein group appeared normal. The nandrolone and whey protein group showed well developed hepatocytes, regular space of Disse and normal hepatic sinusoids. CONCLUSIONS: Whey protein may be ameliorate the hepatic architecture after treatment with nandrolone.

Histopathological changes in androgenized ovaries are recovered by melatonin treatment.[Pubmed:30256483]

Int J Exp Pathol. 2018 Aug;99(4):158-171.

Nandrolone decanoate (ND) is a synthetic steroid, which promotes adverse effects on the ovarian tissue, and melatonin (MLT) exhibits a number of beneficial properties in the reproductive system. This study evaluated the general features of the ovarian tissue and the immunoexpression of sex steroid receptors in ND-treated rats that were submitted to short-term melatonin treatment. Adult rats received mineral oil (control group) and ND at doses of 7.5 mg/kg for 15 days (ND-treated group). The treatment with MLT (10mg/kg for 7 days) was given alone, before or in combination with ND. All ND-treated animals showed persistent dioestrus. In the androgenized groups that received MLT, ovarian morphology and size, and the number/area of corpora lutea were recovered. The number of healthy and atretic follicles was recovered when MLT was administered prior to ND; this was similar to the ovaries of control and MLT groups. There was a decrease in estrogen receptors immunostaining in the follicles of androgenized rats that were treated with MLT, and pretreatment with MLT reduced the expression of androgen receptor in atretic follicles and corpora lutea, when compared with ND-treated group. We conclude that MLT treatment recovered the histopathological aspects of the androgenized ovaries, and MLT pretreatment was the most effective.

Reversal of the hepatic damage induced by the supraphysiological dose of nandrolone decanoate after its withdrawal in the adult male rat.[Pubmed:30060826]

Tissue Cell. 2018 Aug;53:44-52.

Nandrolone decanoate is an anabolic-androgenic steroid that is frequently used at a very high dose to improve the physical performance. Recently, this drug has been abused by athletes to augment their muscle mass and improve their physical performance. However, this could have an impact on other body systems with the potential increase in its harmful effect. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of administering a supraphysiological dose of Nandrolone decanoate on the hepatic functions and structure of the adult rat and to test the potential reversibility after nandrolone withdrawal. Thirty adult male rats were equally divided into; control group, nandrolone-treated group (10mg/kg/IM/weekly) for four weeks and recovery group (received nandrolone for four weeks followed by four weeks recovery). The results showed that nandrolone treatment led to a significant increase in the body weight gain and in the levels of serum alanine and aspartate transaminases. Moreover, the liver sections from nandrolone-treated rat showed; dilatation and congestion in the blood vessels, inflammatory cellular infiltration with hepatic fibrosis, severe vacuolar cytoplasmic degeneration, apoptotic hyperchromatic nuclei and partial loss of mitochondrial cristae in the hepatocytes. In addition, nandrolone treatment resulted in significant increase in the apoptotic index and the area percentage of GFAP positive stellate cells in the liver tissues. Importantly, withdrawal of nandrolone for 4 weeks rescued these biochemical and histological changes. In conclusion, our results showed that supraphysiological dose of nandrolone has hepatotoxic effects in the adult rat and showed that these toxic effects are reversible after treatment withdrawal.

The non-preventive effects of human menopausal gonadotropins on ovarian tissues in Nandrolone decanoate-treated female rats: A histochemical and ultra-structural study.[Pubmed:29766147]

Int J Reprod Biomed (Yazd). 2018 Mar;16(3):159-174.

Background: The follicular growth and development may be affected by abused drugs. Nandrolone decanoate (ND) as an anabolic androgenic steroid can damage the morphological and functional features of the ovary and may lead to reproductive failure. Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of synchronized and non-synchronized administration of Human Menopausal Gonadotropins (hMG) with ND on ovarian tissue and level of sex hormones in the adult female rat. Materials and Methods: Forty adult female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into eight groups. The five experimental groups received 3 and/or 10 mg/kg of ND synchronized and non-synchronized with 10 IU of hMG and hMG alone. The two shams and control groups received solvents of ND and hMG. The animals' serum levels of Follicle-stimulating hormone, Luteinizing hormone, progesterone and estrogen and the weight, volume and dimensions of the ovaries were measured. The ovaries were prepared for apoptosis assessment and morphological study. Results: The ovarian volume and sex hormones in the experimental groups were decreased, but ovarian weight and dimensions didn't change. The rate of apoptosis was increased in the experimental groups as follows; a low and high dose of ND synchronized with hMG 48.80+/-18.70 and 65.20+/-14.20 respectively vs. Sham 1, 33.20+/-17.80, a low and high dose of ND non-synchronized with hMD 55.80+/-17.20 and 75.20+/-14.30 respectively vs. Sham 2, 31.60+/-32.40 groups, p<0.01. Follicular and stromal cells were damaged in the experimental groups except for the hMG group. Conclusion: Administration of ND decreased the serum level of Luteinizing hormone, Follicle-stimulating hormone, progesterone and estrogen and damaged ovarian tissue irreversibly and irreparably and hMG cannot prevent the destruction of the follicles in the adult female rats. This can be a serious warning to women who abuse ND.

Nandrolone decanoate and physical activity affect quadriceps in peripubertal rats.[Pubmed:29759662]

Acta Histochem. 2018 Jul;120(5):429-437.

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs) are synthetic analogs of testosterone often used by athletes to increase the skeletal muscle mass. Our goal was to examine the effects of physical activity and physical activity combined with supraphysiological doses of nandrolone on functional morphology of the quadriceps muscle. The study included 32 peripubertal Wistar rats, divided into 4 groups: control (T-N-), nandrolone (T-N+), physical activity (T+N-) and physical activity plus nandrolone (T+N+) groups. The T+N- and T+N+ group swam for 4 weeks, 1h/day, 5 days/week. The T-N+ and T+N+ groups received nandolone decanoate (20mg/kg b.w.) once per week, subcutaneously. Subsequently, the rats were sacrificed and muscle specimens were prepared for the processing. Tissue sections were histochemically and immunohistochemically stained, while the image analysis was used for quantification. Longitudinal diameter of quadriceps muscle cells was increased for 21% in T-N+, for 57% in T+N- and for 64% in T+N+ group while cross section muscle cell area was increased in T-N+ for 19%, in T+N- for 47% and in T+N+ group for 59%, compared to the control. Collagen fibers covered area was increased in T-N+ group for 36%, in T+N- for 109% and in T+N+ group for 159%, compared to the control. Erythrocyte depots were decreased in T-N+ group and increased in T+N- and T+N+ group, in comparison with T-N-. VEGF depots were increased in all treated groups. Chronic administration of supraphysiological doses of AASs alone or in combination with physical activity induces hypertrophy and significant changes in the quadriceps muscle tissue structure.