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Andrology Nov 2020Testosterone plays a pivotal role in maintaining balance within the multi-dimensional psychological network of mood, behaviour, self-perception and perceived quality of... (Review)
Review
Testosterone plays a pivotal role in maintaining balance within the multi-dimensional psychological network of mood, behaviour, self-perception and perceived quality of life in men of any age. Apart from classical forms of hypogonadism, low testosterone concentrations can also be seen in older men, described as an age- and comorbidity-driven functional hypogonadism and might relate to depressive symptoms exhibiting a wide array of clinical pictures ranging from dysthymia and fatigue over inertia, listlessness to hopelessness and suicidal thoughts. Also, various traits of anxiety, from unfocussed fear to phobic anxiousness and open panic syndromes, are influenced by testosterone. Correspondingly, anxiolysis is likely to be modulated by testosterone via stress resilience, threat vigilance and reward processing. The steroid modulates pro-active and re-active dimensions of aggression, which has to be seen within the context of gaining or maintaining status. This may also include other strategies impacting the social position: heroic or parochial altruism and non-aggressive paths of assertiveness, such as posture and social vigilance. Independent rather than relationship-associated self-construal and self-esteem influence risk-taking traits under the modulation of testosterone. In addition, the genetic setting of the androgen receptor modulates the role of testosterone in aspects regarding mood and personality. Dimensions of sexuality are rather important in this context, but are not target of this article and covered in another part of this special edition. Overall, the quality of life in older hypogonadal men can be positively influenced by testosterone substitution, as has been demonstrated in large placebo-controlled trials.
Topics: Affect; Age of Onset; Animals; Behavior; Biomarkers; Hormone Replacement Therapy; Humans; Hypogonadism; Male; Mental Health; Quality of Life; Receptors, Androgen; Testosterone; Testosterone Congeners
PubMed: 32657051
DOI: 10.1111/andr.12867 -
Kidney disease associated with androgenic-anabolic steroids and vitamin supplements abuse: Be aware!Nefrologia 2020The excessive chase for beauty standards and the rise of muscle dysmorphia have ultimately led to an increase in androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS) and intramuscular... (Review)
Review
The excessive chase for beauty standards and the rise of muscle dysmorphia have ultimately led to an increase in androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS) and intramuscular injections of vitamins A, D and E (ADE) abuse, which is associated with several adverse effects and has become a public health issue. This review of literature discusses kidney injury associated with the use of AAS and ADE, highlighting the mechanisms of acute and chronic renal lesion, such as direct renal toxicity, glomerular hyperfiltration and hypercalcemia. Future perspectives regarding evaluation and early diagnosis of kidney injury in these patients are also discussed.
Topics: Acute Kidney Injury; Anabolic Agents; Androgens; Humans; Hypercalcemia; Kidney; Kidney Diseases; Testosterone Congeners; Vitamin A; Vitamin D; Vitamin E; Vitamins
PubMed: 31585781
DOI: 10.1016/j.nefro.2019.06.003 -
Current Neuropharmacology Jan 2015The use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) by professional and recreational athletes is increasing worldwide. The underlying motivations are mainly performance... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
The use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) by professional and recreational athletes is increasing worldwide. The underlying motivations are mainly performance enhancement and body image improvement. AAS abuse and dependence, which are specifically classified and coded by the DSM-5, are not uncommon. AAS-using athletes are frequently present with psychiatric symptoms and disorders, mainly somatoform and eating, but also mood, and schizophrenia-related disorders. Some psychiatric disorders are typical of athletes, like muscle dysmorphia. This raises the issue of whether AAS use causes these disorders in athletes, by determining neuroadaptive changes in the reward neural circuit or by exacerbating stress vulnerability, or rather these are athletes with premorbid abnormal personalities or a history of psychiatric disorders who are attracted to AAS use, prompted by the desire to improve their appearance and control their weights. This may predispose to eating disorders, but AASs also show mood destabilizing effects, with longterm use inducing depression and short-term hypomania; withdrawal/discontinuation may be accompanied by depression. The effects of AASs on anxiety behavior are unclear and studies are inconsistent. AASs are also linked to psychotic behavior. The psychological characteristics that could prompt athletes to use AASs have not been elucidated.
Topics: Anabolic Agents; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Athletes; Athletic Performance; Humans; Mental Disorders; Psychopathology; Steroids; Substance-Related Disorders; Testosterone Congeners
PubMed: 26074746
DOI: 10.2174/1570159X13666141210222725 -
Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) May 2023Premature deaths in bodybuilders regularly make headlines and are cited as evidence that bodybuilding is a dangerous activity. A wealth of research has revealed elite...
Premature deaths in bodybuilders regularly make headlines and are cited as evidence that bodybuilding is a dangerous activity. A wealth of research has revealed elite athletes typically enjoy lower mortality rates than non-athletes, but research on bodybuilder lifespan is surprisingly limited. Anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use is commonly cited as a key contributor to morbidity and premature mortality in bodybuilders, but this area of research is highly nuanced and influenced by numerous confounders unique to bodybuilding. It is quite possible that bodybuilders are at elevated risk and that AAS use is the primary reason for this, but there remains much unknown in this realm. As global participation in bodybuilding increases, and healthcare providers play a more active role in monitoring bodybuilder health, there is a need to identify how numerous factors associated with bodybuilding ultimately influence short- and long-term health and mortality rate. In this Current Opinion, we discuss what is currently known about the bodybuilder lifespan, identify the nuances of the literature regarding bodybuilder health and AAS use, and provide recommendations for future research on this topic.
Topics: Humans; Mortality, Premature; Anabolic Agents; Testosterone Congeners; Athletes; Anabolic Androgenic Steroids
PubMed: 36715876
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-022-01801-0 -
Current Neuropharmacology Jan 2015Anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs) represent a large group of synthetic derivatives of testosterone, produced to maximize anabolic effects and minimize the androgenic... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs) represent a large group of synthetic derivatives of testosterone, produced to maximize anabolic effects and minimize the androgenic ones. AAS can be administered orally, parenterally by intramuscular injection and transdermally. Androgens act by binding to the nuclear androgen receptor (AR) in the cytoplasm and then translocate into the nucleus. This binding results in sequential conformational changes of the receptor affecting the interaction between receptor and protein, and receptor and DNA. Skeletal muscle can be considered as the main target tissue for the anabolic effects of AAS, which are mediated by ARs which after exposure to AASs are up-regulated and their number increases with body building. Therefore, AASs determine an increase in muscle size as a consequence of a dose-dependent hypertrophy resulting in an increase of the cross-sectional areas of both type I and type II muscle fibers and myonuclear domains. Moreover, it has been reported that AASs can increase tolerance to exercise by making the muscles more capable to overload therefore shielding them from muscle fiber damage and improving the level of protein synthesis during recovery. Despite some therapeutic use of AASs, there is also wide abuse among athletes especially bodybuilders in order to improve their performances and to increase muscle growth and lean body mass, taking into account the significant anabolic effects of these drugs. The prolonged misuse and abuse of AASs can determine several adverse effects, some of which may be even fatal especially on the cardiovascular system because they may increase the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), myocardial infarction, altered serum lipoproteins, and cardiac hypertrophy. The aim of this review is to focus on deaths related to AAS abuse, trying to evaluate the autoptic, histopathological and toxicological findings in order to investigate the pathophysiological mechanism that underlines this type of death, which is still obscure in several aspects. The review of the literature allowed us to identify 19 fatal cases between 1990 and 2012, in which the autopsy excluded in all cases, extracardiac causes of death.
Topics: Anabolic Agents; Autopsy; Death, Sudden, Cardiac; Humans; Steroids; Testosterone Congeners
PubMed: 26074749
DOI: 10.2174/1570159X13666141210225414 -
Circulation May 2017Millions of individuals have used illicit anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), but the long-term cardiovascular associations of these drugs remain incompletely understood. (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
Millions of individuals have used illicit anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), but the long-term cardiovascular associations of these drugs remain incompletely understood.
METHODS
Using a cross-sectional cohort design, we recruited 140 experienced male weightlifters 34 to 54 years of age, comprising 86 men reporting ≥2 years of cumulative lifetime AAS use and 54 nonusing men. Using transthoracic echocardiography and coronary computed tomography angiography, we assessed 3 primary outcome measures: left ventricular (LV) systolic function (left ventricular ejection fraction), LV diastolic function (early relaxation velocity), and coronary atherosclerosis (coronary artery plaque volume).
RESULTS
Compared with nonusers, AAS users demonstrated relatively reduced LV systolic function (mean±SD left ventricular ejection fraction = 52±11% versus 63±8%; <0.001) and diastolic function (early relaxation velocity = 9.3±2.4 cm/second versus 11.1±2.0 cm/second; <0.001). Users currently taking AAS at the time of evaluation (N=58) showed significantly reduced LV systolic (left ventricular ejection fraction = 49±10% versus 58±10%; <0.001) and diastolic function (early relaxation velocity = 8.9±2.4 cm/second versus 10.1±2.4 cm/second; =0.035) compared with users currently off-drug (N=28). In addition, AAS users demonstrated higher coronary artery plaque volume than nonusers (median [interquartile range] 3 [0, 174] mL versus 0 [0, 69] mL; =0.012). Lifetime AAS dose was strongly associated with coronary atherosclerotic burden (increase [95% confidence interval] in rank of plaque volume for each 10-year increase in cumulative duration of AAS use: 0.60 SD units [0.16-1.03 SD units]; =0.008).
CONCLUSIONS
Long-term AAS use appears to be associated with myocardial dysfunction and accelerated coronary atherosclerosis. These forms of AAS-associated adverse cardiovascular phenotypes may represent a previously underrecognized public-health problem.
Topics: Adult; Androgens; Cardiotoxicity; Case-Control Studies; Computed Tomography Angiography; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Artery Disease; Coronary Vessels; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diastole; Doping in Sports; Echocardiography; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Multidetector Computed Tomography; Performance-Enhancing Substances; Plaque, Atherosclerotic; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Stroke Volume; Substance-Related Disorders; Systole; Testosterone Congeners; Time Factors; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left; Ventricular Function, Left; Weight Lifting
PubMed: 28533317
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.026945 -
Ugeskrift For Laeger Nov 2022Anabolic steroid abuse is a growing health concern due to its relatively prevalent use and adverse health effects. These drugs cause significant disturbances of the... (Review)
Review
Anabolic steroid abuse is a growing health concern due to its relatively prevalent use and adverse health effects. These drugs cause significant disturbances of the body's endocrine system, and the most common somatic adverse drug reactions are gynaecomastia, infertility, testicular dysfunction, and acne. Furthermore, the use of anabolic steroids is associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders and antisocial behaviour as summarised in this review.
Topics: Male; Humans; Anabolic Agents; Substance-Related Disorders; Testicular Diseases; Gynecomastia; Testosterone Congeners
PubMed: 36426813
DOI: No ID Found -
Ugeskrift For Laeger Mar 2023
Topics: Humans; Anabolic Androgenic Steroids; Public Health
PubMed: 36896609
DOI: No ID Found -
British Journal of Anaesthesia Mar 2022Despite substantial advocacy for the scientific community to focus on sex-specific differences in biology, the role of sex hormones remains inadequately studied in the...
Despite substantial advocacy for the scientific community to focus on sex-specific differences in biology, the role of sex hormones remains inadequately studied in the field of anaesthesia-induced developmental neurotoxicity. A recent study by Yang and colleagues published in this journal addresses the importance of studying sex hormones during critical stages of brain development. The authors demonstrate that exogenous testosterone administered to immature mice pups around the time of sevoflurane exposure increased brain levels of testosterone, attenuated tau phosphorylation, inhibited glycogen synthase kinase-3β activation and its interaction/binding with tau, reversed sevoflurane-induced decreases in neuronal activation, and attenuated cognitive impairments. Their well-designed experiments suggest an important role that testosterone plays in balancing several important pathways crucial for neuronal protection and normal function of neuronal circuits in the male mammalian brain.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Female; Male; Mice; Phosphorylation; Sevoflurane; Testosterone; tau Proteins
PubMed: 35115156
DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2022.01.002 -
FEBS Letters Apr 2006The majority of human prostate cancer cell lines, including the two "classical" cell lines DU-145 and PC-3, are reported to be androgen receptor (AR)-negative. However,...
The majority of human prostate cancer cell lines, including the two "classical" cell lines DU-145 and PC-3, are reported to be androgen receptor (AR)-negative. However, other studies have provided evidence that the DU-145 and PC-3 cell lines express AR mRNA. These contradictory observations prompted us to investigate whether DU-145 and PC-3 cell lines express the androgen receptor. Using antipeptide antibodies directed against three distinct regions of the human AR protein and an improved method to detect AR protein in immunoblotting, we report that DU-145 and PC-3 cell lines express AR protein. We found that the relative levels of the AR mRNA and protein that were detected in DU-145 and PC-3 cell lines were lower than the LNCaP, an AR-positive cell line. Moreover, the antibody directed against the non-variant region (amino acids 299-315), but not the variant N- or C-terminal region (amino acids 1-20 and 900-919, respectively) of the human AR protein, detected the expression of AR in all prostate cancer cell lines. Notably, treatment of these cell lines with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) resulted in measurable increases in the AR protein levels and considerable nuclear accumulation. Although, treatment of DU-145 and PC-3 cells with DHT did not result in stimulation of the activity of an AR-responsive reporter, knockdown of AR expression in PC-3 cells resulted in decreases in p21(CIP1) protein levels, and a measurable decrease in the activity of the p21-luc-reporter. Our observations demonstrate the expression of AR protein in DU-145 and PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines.
Topics: Active Transport, Cell Nucleus; Anabolic Agents; Antibodies; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Nucleus; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Male; Neoplasm Proteins; Prostatic Neoplasms; RNA, Messenger; Receptors, Androgen; Testosterone
PubMed: 16580667
DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2006.03.041