Methandrostenolone
Pronunciation:meth-an-droh-STEN-oh-lohn
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:72-63-9
Formal Names:Anabolin, Dianabol, Methandienone, Nerobol
Type:Anabolic steroid.Seepage 24
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule III (DEA no. 4000)
USA Availability:Prescription
Uses.Medical uses of methandrostenolone include promoting growth in
small boys, although with the risk of accelerating increase in height for awhile
and then stopping further increase permanently. The drug has also been used
to bring on male puberty when that development is delayed. A research study
found that the substance increases sexual desire in men while simultaneously
reducing their fertility. The drug has been given to control hereditary angio-
edema, a disease producing giant hives on the skin. A lung disease called
silicosis has been treated with the drug, and so have burns, cancer, and a type
of anemia. Using the substance against a brittle bone condition called osteo-
porosis has been tried, with mixed results. Protection against lead poisoning
was noted in a rat experiment. Levels of triglycerides, which are associated
with heart attack and stroke, declined in diabetic humans who received the
drug.
The substance is forbidden in sports competitions, but some athletes con-
tinue to use it, either because they will not be tested for it or because they
hope to evade tests. Experiments have compared athletes using methandro-
stenolone to others not receiving the drug (either two different groups of ath-
letes were compared, or the same volunteers were tested under both drug and
nondrug conditions). In one study the drug group showed higher increase in
weight and strength. In another experiment the drug group gained more
weight than the drug-free group, but the scientists noted that water retention
could have been the reason. Blood pressure also increased in the drug group.
In still another comparison experiment the methandrostenolone users gained
more weight and achieved more muscle development, but despite additional
muscle mass their strength and performance did not differ from the drug-free
group—scientists running those tests were unsure that anabolic steroid actions
explained physical development in the drug group; as with an experiment
mentioned above, a plausible alternative explanation was that methandrosten-