Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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16.08.2016 |
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Do anabolic steroids increase life expectancy?
Anabolic steroids may increase life expectancy because they delay aging. On the other hand they may increase the risk of cancer in a much more fundamental way than endocrinologists suspect. These apparently contradictory conclusions can be drawn from a human study that American doctors published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Telomeres
The researchers wondered whether danazol perhaps has an effect on the length of the telomeres. This reasoning was based on the results of a 2009 in-vitro study in which androgens activated the enzyme telomerase in human cells. [Blood. 2009 Sep 10; 114(11):2236-43.]
Study
The test subjects were given two doses a day of 400 hundred mg danazol. So they took a total of 800 mg danazol daily.
Results
The figure below shows the rate at which telomere length decreases in normal individuals [Normal], and the rate at which the length decreases in people where that goes quicker [Telomeropathy]. The effect of danazol on telomere length is also shown in the same figure.
Conclusion
That sounds promising, but the researchers add that there may be advantages and disadvantages. "Telomere attrition and dysfunction have been implicated in the development of cancer in both mice [Nature. 2000 Aug 10;406(6796):641-5.] and humans." [JAMA. 2010 Sep 22;304(12):1358-64.] [JAMA. 2010 Jul 7;304(1):69-75.] [Blood. 2015 Jan 22;125(4):706-9.]
"The advantages and risks associated with the modification of telomere loss will need to be assessed in attempts to alter physiologic aging in humans."
"Evolution to myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia has been infrequent in historical studies of androgen treatment for bone marrow failure. [Am J Med 1981; 71: 543-51.] The mitigation of telomere erosion by sex hormones may abrogate early molecular steps in chromosome instability and oncogenesis and warrants investigation in clinical trials."
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