Archive for January, 2010

The use of methylprednisolone, a steroid drug, in a combination with a multiple sclerosis (MS) drug may prove to be a better option for minimizing the amount of disease activity as compared to the use of MS drug alone.

The finding was presented as part of the Late-breaking Science Program at the American Academy of Neurology’s 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 – May 2, 2009.

From Sciencedaily.com:

The study involved 341 people with relapsing-remitting MS. Half of the participants received both drugs; half received only the interferon drug plus a placebo. The participants were seen every three months during the three-year study for evaluation.

The participants had the disease for an average of three years and had not yet received a disease-modifying drug such as interferon.

Those who received both drugs had 38 percent fewer relapses, or times when the disease is active, than those receiving only the interferon drug. They also improved slightly on a test of MS disability, while the scores for the placebo group decreased slightly.

At the beginning of the study and again after three years, the researchers measured the size of lesions in the brain that are a sign of disease activity. For those receiving both drugs, the lesions stayed the same size or shrunk, while the size of the lesions grew for those taking only interferon.

It was remarked by study author Mads Ravnborg, MD, of the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Research Center at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, the result highlighted that both drugs seem to have a synergy when taken together offering a more beneficial effect on the disease activity.

Danatrol, which is also known as Danazol or Danocrine, is very much like Proviron. This anabolic steroid is mildly androgenic in nature.

The chemical structure of this miracle drug is 17alpha-Pregna-2,4-dien-20-yno[2,3-d]isoxazol-17-ol and its molecular weight at base is 337.4608 g/mol.

In the world of medical sciences, Danatrol is used as an anti-gonadotropin. The drug, having competitive anti-aromatase characteristic, is used by bodybuilders for preventing the side effects of aromatization (such as bloating, gynecomastia, and increased body fat) related with specific hormones such as testosterone.

Stacking

Danatrol may be stacked with anabolic steroids such as Nandrolone, Testosterone, Methandrostenolone, and Boldenone for reducing or eliminating the aromatization processes related with use of anabolic steroids. It is essential to note that use of anti-estrogens such as Clomid or Nolvadex is required for restoring the natural level of testosterone after the end of a steroid cycle with Danatrol.

Recommended Dose

The recommended dose of Danatrol is 200-400 mg per day, with or without meals. It is required to be kept at a controlled temperature of 25°C (77°F) with excursions permitted up to 15-30°C (59-86°F).

It is important to note that the use of Danatrol must be initiated only after a medical advice else users can end up abusing it resulting in side effects such as perspiration, hot flashes, elevated blood pressure, and liver toxicity.

We hope that this information on Danatrol was useful to you for creating a clear and complete understanding about this anabolic steroid.

There are more side effects of performance enhancing drugs than known till now, according to a a team of Southern Cross University (SCU) scientists.

The study, which was led by Dr Robert Weatherby, noted that use of anabolic steroids may significantly increase susceptibility to viral infections and cancers. This study also raised questions about the associated risks in context to use of banned substances in the long term.

The study was carried out in conjunction with Mentorn, Channel 4 (UK) and New Scientist.

From News-Medical.Net:

Dr Weatherby said the study revealed that using anabolic steroids, even at doses 50 times less than those commonly used by steroid abusers, significantly increased susceptibility to viral infections and cancers by weakening a vital part of the body’s immune system.

The researchers also found that steroids could cause a change in the users’ psychology, reducing their empathy for other people, and making them less sensitive to the effect of their actions on others. Unlike other drugs, which merely alter mood for a short time, this new evidence indicates steroids may cause a change to human personality, which is normally stable throughout life – a result that has potential implications for those convicted of criminal offences related to so called “roid rage”.

“Athletes have used these drugs for a long time, hoping to improve their performance, but now for the first time we’ve been able to show that androgenic anabolic steroids have a seriously detrimental effect on a specific part of the human body’s immune system,” Dr Weatherby said.

It was suggested by the study that any one keen to use anabolic steroids for enhancing athletic performance in the short run may end up endangering own health in the long run.

When anabolic steroids were first developed, scientists were keen to develop a “smart” drug that can offer varying benefits without side effects. This was the time when Equipoise was developed and it is still admired for the same reason. Read on!

Equipoise, which is also known as Boldenone, comes with unique characteristics. Though initially used on animals such as horses and cows, the anabolic product soon gained prominence when some of the biggest names in the world of sports admitted using Equipoise to deliver dramatic performances without any side effect.

This anabolic steroid with a mild androgenic and a mild estrogenic effect shows very little affinity for the 5-alpha-reducatase enzyme2, which makes it the first choice among bodybuilders.

The chemical structure of Equipoise is 1,4-androstadiene-3-one,17b-ol and the molecular weight at base is 286.4132 g/mol.

Equipoise is highly effective when it comes to increasing muscle mass over a period of time without any side effect. It is also effective for increasing the level of nitrogen retention and positively stimulating protein synthesis. The use of Equipoise does not lead to disturbing aromatization like that of other steroids and this is the biggest reason why bodybuilders prefer it as the risk of gynecomastia is not promoted by such usage.

Recommended Dose

The recommended dose of Equipoise is 300-600 mg per week or 25-50 mg every day, with or without meals.

Stacking

Equipoise is stacked with steroids such as Trenbolone, Stanozolol, and Testosterone propionate during a cutting cycle. When stacked with aromatizing steroids like Testosterone, the use of anti-estrogens such as Nolvadex or Clomid is required.

We hope that this information on Equipoise, the miracle drug, was useful to you in more than just a way.

Keeping a close check on the level of testosterone is one of the biggest concerns for sportsmen, especially bodybuilders but things are easy yet effective with HCG in the picture. Read on!

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin or HCG belongs to the drug class of Gonadotropin that is known to mimic the level of luteinizing hormone (LH). HCG is highly effective for inducing ovulation in the world of medicines and is equally effective for restoring the natural production of testosterone.

In addition to all these benefits, HCG can easily stimulate testes when natural testosterone production is inhibited due to any reason. This miracle drug is also useful for losing body weight apart from treating undescended testicles in young males.

Chemical Behavior

The IUPAC name of this legendary product is (2S)-2-amino-6-[[(2R)-1-(carboxymethylamino)-1-oxo-3-sulfanylpropan-2-yl]amino]-6-oxohexanoic acid. Its chemical formula is C11H19N3O6S.

Action Mechanism

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin starts and binds stimulation of the receptors on the Leydig cell for triggering the process of synthesis and secretion of testosterone.

HCG is also responsible for stimulating gonadal steroid hormone production by facilitating testes’ interstitial cells to produce ovary’s corpus luteum and androgens.

Recommended Dose

The recommended dose of HCG is 1500-3000 I.U. every 4-5th day, when taken in an injectable form (with or without meals). The dose must be followed for a maximum period of 2-3 weeks so that the body does not immune to HCG benefits.

HCG may be used in a combination for stacking purposes with Nolvadex to eliminate the risk of HPTA inhibition.

A drug previously approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s B cell lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis has been found effective to treat severe ANCA-associated vasculitis as effectively as cyclophosphamide, the present standard therapy. This finding was revealed in news presented on October 18 at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Philadelphia.

Rituxan, the drug, may prove to be an effective option for the treatment of Vasculitis characterized by inflammation of the blood vessel leading to organ and tissue damage and eventually death.

From Sciencedaily.com:

In the current study, nine centers enrolled a total of 197 patients with severe Wegener’s granulomatosis or microscopic polyangiitis, two of the more common types of ANCA-associated vasculitis. Patients were given steroids and randomized to receive either the standard treatment with cyclophosphamide or Rituxan given at a dose of 375 mg/m2 weekly for four weeks. Investigators used the standard tools to assess disease status and remission. The study was rigorously designed and was double-blinded, meaning that neither patient nor doctor knew which drug individuals were getting.

At the time of the data analysis, 84 of the 99 (85%) patients in the Rituxan arm and 81 of the 98 patients (83%) in the cyclophosphamide arm had completed six months of follow-up. Investigators found that the treatments were equally effective in putting patients into remission and that, in fact, the treatment outcomes looked slightly better in patients receiving Rituxan (64% vs. 55%). This difference, however, was not considered statistically significant (P=0.21).

The Hospital for Special Surgery was one of nine centers that were involved in the Phase III trial led by Ulrich Specks, M.D., professor of medicine in the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, and John Stone, M.D., MPH, director, Clinical Rheumatology, Massachusetts General Hospital.

Estrogen can halt stroke damage by inactivating a tumor-suppressing protein that is known to prevent many forms of cancer, as per researchers at the Medical College of Georgia.

It was remarked by Limor Raz, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the MCG School of Graduate Studies, that estrogen has the potential of suppressing p53 after stroke leading to damage stoppage. It was also remarked that estrogen can also chemically alter p53 for attenuating the cascade and leading to reduced stroke damage.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Global cerebral ischemia, the most common type of ischemic stroke, in which blood flow to the brain is disrupted, was induced, damaging primarily the hippocampal CA1 region of the brain. In this study, a group of female rats were treated with estrogen versus placebo for seven days and estrogen’s effect on p53 signaling was examined.

“This part of the brain is extremely important because it is where our memory and learning occur,” Ms. Raz says. “During a stroke, you have all these things happening in your brain, and we’ve found that estrogen treatment is effective in reducing some of the damage.”

The next step, she says, is to determine why. “We know that it does, and now we need to find out how.”

Ms. Raz is presently working with Dr. Darrell Brann, chief of developmental neurobiology and associate director of the MCG Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, and presented these research findings in Colorado at the American Physiological Society conference that focused on the cardiovascular effects of sex steroids and gender.

When it comes to delivering top-class performance on the field or preventing aging, there is no product better than human growth hormone (HGH). Read on!

Human Growth Hormone or HGH is a protein (somatrophin) that consists of 191 amino acids in all. This hormone is found in high quantities in human beings at young age and the secretion is considered to be the highest during adolescence.

The growth hormone has always been in demand but recent publicity waves have added a greater volume than ever to HGH demand. The fact that this hormone is easily available on the Internet at affordable price and comes in varying forms such as pills, powder, injection, and sprays has contributed to the success of this miracle product.

Human growth hormone offers a multitude of benefits to its users. It promotes enhancements in the levels of bone mineral density, cholesterol profile, mood, well-being, lean muscle mass, healing time, skin thickness, skin elasticity, HDL (good) cholesterol, exercise capacity, and general energy levels. In addition to these benefits, HGH is highly effective for promoting reductions in terms of levels of total body fat, post surgery or trauma infection rates, sun-damage type wrinkling, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and recovery time between workouts.

In the world of medicines, human growth hormone is indicated for patients suffering from HIV patients with cachexia or wasting. This indication is recommended for improving lean body mass and body weight besides raising the level of physical endurance.

We hope that these benefits of human growth hormone have helped you gain a clear and complete insight about this wonder drug.

According to a nationwide survey of more than 10,000 adolescents that appeared in an issue of Child Health News, body image is a big concerning issue among young boys and girls. The survey pointed out that the image is big enough to prompt the adolescents to make use of hormones and dietary supplements for improving their physique

It was also noted by the survey that adolescent supplement users appear to be deeply influenced by the media.

Some of the most popular body image enhancing products among adolescents are creatine, amino acids, the amino-acid metabolite HMB, the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), growth hormone, and anabolic steroids

From News-Medical.Net:

Anabolic steroids have the most serious health effects, including testicular atrophy, impotence, liver and kidney damage, an increased risk for heart disease, and the widely reported “‘roid rage” (uncontrolled aggression). The safety of creatine, DHEA, and other products purported to increase muscle mass and tone has been questioned and isn’t well known.

“Most of us in adolescent medicine think it’s best to stay away from these products altogether,” Field says.

The survey, of adolescents aged 12 to 18, was done in 1999 as part of the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS), which involves children of nurses enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. GUTS was co-founded by Field and Dr. Graham Colditz and colleagues of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Alison Field, an epidemiologist in the Division of Adolescent Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry at Children’s Hospital Boston and the study’s first author, was of the view that some protein powders may be relatively safe but the side effects of steroids are well-known.

Adult and young asthmatic patients can benefit more from inhaled corticosteroids than with cromolyn. This finding was revealed in a review of studies comparing inhaled corticosteroids and cromolyn.

It was remarked by James Guevara, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues, that asthmatic patients on steroids tend to experience average three fewer severe asthma flare-ups each year, scored better on lung function tests, and make lesser use of inhalers than their counterparts on cromolyn.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Any expert would agree that inhaled corticosteroids are preferred first-line therapy for treatment of persistent asthma, which requires daily therapy. But we also will agree with the NIH [National Institutes of Health] asthma guidelines, which state that cromolyn and other drugs are alternative therapies,” Storms said.

Cromolyn, or sodium cromoglycate, and inhaled corticosteroids both block the action of certain inflammatory cells in the lungs. Physicians recommend both types of medication for persistent asthma, but individual studies disagree about which type of medication works best, the reviewers found.

“The safety of sodium cromoglycate has been well established, but the effectiveness of sodium cromoglycate in controlling asthma symptoms may be limited,” Guevara said, adding that the lack of effective control might be one reason cromolyn has fallen out of favor compared to inhaled corticosteroids since the 1990s.

William Storms, M.D., an allergist at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and director of the William Storms Allergy Clinic in Colorado Springs, remarked that this consensus does not mean that there is no room for cromolyn treatment.