Testolactone
Pronunciation:tes-toh-LACK-tohn
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:968-93-4
Formal Names:Teslac, Testololactone
Type:Anabolic steroid. See page 24
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule III (DEA no. 4000)
USA Availability:Prescription
Pregnancy Category:C
Uses.Experiments have shown that testolactone can produce substantial
reductions in size of tumors, although such results are not invariable. Medical
practitioners mainly use this drug to ease suffering from breast cancer in older
female patients and in younger women who no longer have functioning ova-
ries. The drug may permanently reduce the amount of estrogen hormones in
a woman’s body; such hormones affect pregnancy and female physical char-
acteristics. Unlike other anabolic steroids, testolactone seems to have no mas-
culinizing effect on women. Clinical experimentation using testolactone as part
of the regimen against a juvenile adrenal gland disorder found no adverse
effect on children’s bone growth, in contrast to most anabolic steroids’ ability
to prematurely halt bone growth in young people. Testolactone has had suc-
cess in treating premature male puberty, in restoring normal growth charac-
teristics, and in improving young men’s mood—all without harming bone
development. The substance has also reduced abnormal enlargement of
breasts that some males experience during adolescence. Although the drug is
not recommended for women who have yet to pass through menopause, tes-
tolactone has seen experimental success in controlling premature puberty
among girls suffering from McCune-Albright syndrome (a disease also in-
volving bone and skin abnormalities). In rat experiments the drug had no
apparent effect on fertility, but in humans the substance has been used to
improve male fertility with mixed success. Testolactone has also been given
to counteract human male sexual dysfunction caused by some epilepsy ther-
apy. Experimental use against enlarged prostate has had promising results.
Drawbacks.Unwanted effects are described as uncommon but can include
headache, skin rash, tingling, nausea, constipation or diarrhea, and abdominal
discomfort. By elevating amounts of calcium in the blood, the drug can make