Key result
Anabolic steroids combined with exercise impaired exercise-induced increases in cardiac capillary density at 6 weeks.
Why the study?
Does the combination of anabolic steroids and exercise impair cardiac microvascular adaptation compared to exercise alone in mice?
Does the combination of anabolic steroids and exercise impair cardiac microvascular adaptation compared to exercise alone in mice?
Anabolic steroids combined with exercise induce mild cardiac myocyte hypertrophy but impair exercise-induced microvascular adaptation, potentially compromising myocardial oxygen supply.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May compromise myocardial perfusion in steroid-using athletes; hypothesis-generating from animal data and requires human validation.
BACKGROUND: Concomitant application of anabolic-androgenic steroids and physical exercise can induce cardiac hypertrophy. These experiments investigate the still unknown response of the cardiac myocytes and capillaries to the combined influence of various anabolic steroids and muscular exercise. METHODS: Female SPF-NMRI mice were divided into the following groups: a) sedentary control, b) exercise (treadmill running); c) sedentary receiving Dianabol; d) exercise + Dianabol; e) exercise + Oral-Turinabol. After 3 and 6 weeks the left ventricular papillary muscles were studied morphometrically. Evaluated variables: minimal myocyte diameter, number of capillaries around a single myocyte, capillary density and intercapillary distance. RESULTS: Only the anabolic steroids + exercise groups showed a mild myocyte hypertrophy. In contrast, only exercise alone caused a significant increase of the capillary density after both experimental periods; e.g. capillary density after 6 weeks (capillaries/mm2, mean values +/- standard deviation, p < 0.05): control (4,272 +/- 287), exercise (5411 +/- 755), dianabol (4,004 +/- 333), dianabol + exercise (4,076 +/- 403), oral-turinabol + exercise (4,053 +/- 306). Moreover, unlike all other regimens, only exercise alone shortened the intercapillary distance. Finally, exercise without drugs induced the greatest increase in the number of capillaries around a single myocyte. CONCLUSIONS: Anabolic steroids combined with exercise: 1) induce mild hypertrophy of the cardiac myocytes, 2) impair the cardiac microvascular adaptation to physical conditioning. The microvascular impairment may cause a detrimental alteration of the myocardial oxygen supply, especially during muscular exercise.
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Tagarakis et al. (2000) studied this question. Anabolic steroids (Dianabol or Oral-Turinabol) + exercise vs. Exercise alone or sedentary control was evaluated on Capillary density at 6 weeks (capillaries/mm2) (p=< 0.05). Anabolic steroids combined with exercise impaired exercise-induced increases in cardiac capillary density at 6 weeks.
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