oxandrolone
Meaning of oxandrolone: A laboratory-made relative of testosterone shaped to build muscle with less of the male hormone effect.
Definition of oxandrolone
Oxandrolone is a synthetic anabolic steroid, a laboratory-made relative of testosterone altered to favor tissue building over other male hormone effects. It has been used to help regain weight and muscle lost after severe burns, prolonged illness or long courses of corticosteroids. It is a controlled substance because of misuse for athletic performance.
What does anabolic mean here?
Testosterone does two broad things. Its anabolic action builds tissue, increasing muscle protein and holding on to nitrogen and calcium. Its androgenic action produces male characteristics: body hair, deepening of the voice, and changes to the genitals and prostate. Chemists altering the molecule have tried to keep the first while reducing the second, and oxandrolone is one result. The separation is never complete, so an anabolic steroid always carries some androgenic effect alongside the muscle building.
How does it work in the cell?
Like testosterone, it passes through the cell membrane and binds a receptor waiting inside. The pair travels to the nucleus and attaches to DNA, switching on genes that increase protein manufacture. In practice a given amount of dietary protein is put to greater use, so lean mass rises and nitrogen loss slows. Unlike testosterone it is stable enough to be taken as a tablet rather than injected, because a chemical modification protects it from being destroyed immediately by the liver.
What has it been used for?
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Severe burns | Reduce loss of lean tissue during recovery |
| Weight loss after illness or surgery | Help regain what was lost |
| Long corticosteroid treatment | Offset the muscle loss those drugs cause |
| Delayed puberty in boys | Short courses under specialist care |
Muscle wasting from serious illness is the thread running through all of these. Availability varies widely between countries, and in some it has been withdrawn entirely.
What are the risks?
Liver injury is the effect most associated with orally active steroids of this kind, including jaundice, raised liver enzymes and, with prolonged use, rare blood-filled cysts within the liver. Cholesterol changes are unfavorable, with the protective fraction falling. In women, deepening of the voice, facial hair and enlargement of the clitoris can be permanent. In men, the body's own testosterone production is suppressed and fertility falls. Growth plates can close early in children, reducing final height. Those effects are why the drug is controlled rather than freely available.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Oxandrolone was prescribed during rehabilitation after extensive burns.
Good to know
Separating muscle building from male hormone effects is never complete, so voice deepening and hair growth in women can be permanent even with a drug designed to minimize them.