Intresting reading about Anavar and liver.

[eatmyass]

Basically ti tell you in the end what to use which you all talk of to use anyways.
Heard in Geneva:
Oxandrin May Cause Liver Toxicity
by Michael Mooney (Original article in issue #7, October, 1998. Updated July, 2001)
(See also Dr. Donald Abrams review in The AIDS Reader March, 2001;11(3)
While Oxandrin is promoted as being non-toxic to the liver, the truth is Oxandrin is a 17-alpha alkylated oral anabolic steroid so it has the potential to burden the liver, just like any other oral 17-alpha alkylated steroid. We have questioned that its potential for liver toxicity would be enhanced when it is used with other liver-challenging drugs like protease inhibitors and other standard AIDS medications, or with higher dosages. We have an answer.

At the Geneva AIDS Conference, Dr. Carl Grunfeld presented the preliminary results of a placebo controlled dose-ranging study that used 20, 40 and 80 mg daily doses that showed that doses of 40 and 80 mg cause incidence of elevated transaminases (SGOT and SGPT), which may indicate liver toxicity.

Doses above 20 mg per day were tested because 20 mg was found to be relatively ineffective for lean mass gain in some men. Oxandrin is a better option for women who need about half the men’s dose. Children need much less. Although most studies tell us that Oxandrin is relatively safe for HIV-negative people, oxandrolone produced evidence of liver toxicity in studies of boys with kidney failure in 1980.1 We have been somewhat surprised at the number of HIV(+) men who report to us that Oxandrin caused elevations in the blood tests that can indicate liver toxicity. Physician’s should monitor liver tests carefully when Oxandrin, or any oral anabolic steroid is used, especially in higher doses.

Winstrol, another oral steroid is a less expensive option for males. It appears to be somewhat more anabolic than Oxandrin, and a 6 to 18 mg. daily dose has produced good muscle gains without detectable liver burden in males we’ve observed. Anadrol is another powerful option, and while it is thought to be toxic to the liver, we had not had one report of Anadrol at doses as high as 150 mg per day causing elevated liver enzymes until July, 1999, after Anadrol had been on the market for about a year and a half.

This male reported that he had used Anadrol with no negative effect on his liver enzymes when he was using the anti-HIV medications Viracept, Zerit, and Epivir. About nine months after he ended the first Anadrol cycle he started a new cycle of Anadrol, but this time his HIV medications consisted of a cocktail of Videx, Viramune, Hydroxyurea, and Ziagen. Within a few months of this second cycle of Anadrol, blood tests that can indicate liver problems became elevated. It appears that one or more of the medications he was using had some problematic interaction with Anadrol. While we do not know conclusively which medication(s) may have promoted the problem, we have been hearing reports of liver toxicity being associated with hydroxyurea used in combination with other medications in HIV, so this should be taken into consideration.

Interestingly, he also said, "... Anadrol produced much quicker, better results regarding muscle growth. It seemed that just looking at weights added mass! I went from about 185 lbs to about 203 lbs in about 4 months. After stopping the Anadrol and continuing the workouts, I leveled out at 195. The Oxandrin seems to be less effective, although to be fair, I've only been on it for 3 weeks."

Added July, 2001: As time has passed since Anadrol has been introduced into the HIV community, evidence of liver toxicity has appeared, but generally with higher dose use. It appears that oral steroid doses over 20 mg per day, in general, should be considered to have potential for liver toxicity. Anadrol has been prescribed in HIV medicine in doses up to 150 mg per day, and at this dose we have had some reports of liver enzyme elevations, including GGT, a discreet liver function test.

Compare Drug Toxicity at Equal Doses

It is important to note that comparisons of studies that showed a seeming lack of a negative effect of Oxandrin on liver enzymes with HIV(-) and HIV(+) people related to studies of Anadrol that showed a negative effect are not credible. When we consider that liver toxicity is a dose-related phenomena, and then consider that the typical doses that Anadrol has been used and studied at are often 100 mg per day, and the doses that Oxandrin has been used and studied at are usually about 10 to 15 mg per day, there is no credible way to use data from these studies to compare the potential for toxicity of the two steroids. To accurately compare them each steroid must be given at the same dosage to matched subjects.

The Grunfeld study that showed that Oxandrin caused elevated SGOT and SGPT enzymes raises questions about whether Oxandin is just as potentially toxic as any other steroid at higher doses.

Those who’ve had liver disease or are using protease inhibitors (especially Norvir) should have their liver function tested regularly while using any oral steroid and take liver protectants like evening primrose oil, silymarin, lipoic acid, glutamine, and N-acetyl-cysteine.

Also, because oral steroids can decrease the "good" HDL cholesterol and increase the "bad" LDL cholesterol, oral steroids can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). If you use oral anabolic steroids consider taking 400 to 800 IU of Vitamin E, and 1,000 to 2,000 mg. of Vitamin C with each meal. These vitamin antioxidants help to protect cholesterol from the oxidation that is associated with CVD.

References

Jones RW, et al. J Pediatr, 97(4):559-66 1980

 

[HUCKLEBERRY FINNaplex]

LOL,that study is extremely outdated,poorly done,and been disproven over and over through consequent studies.Ox is used in alcoholic hepatitis to IMPROVE liver values/functionality.I would take that study with a very tiny grain of salt.

 

[wayne and zeus]

 

[DrJMW]

Huck is correct.

 

[michaelt]

id like to know if this is true. Someone once said on a board, that the study with alcoholics and anavar, that the alcoholics STOPPED DRINKING when they were given the anavar. And this is why their liver values seemed to get better. I havent read that study, id just like to know if this is true.

 

[nuh_mizer]

Sound like that states that everything is the opposite of what we all know.
"and while it is thought to be toxic to the liver, we had not had one report of Anadrol at doses as high as 150 mg per day causing elevated liver enzymes"....oh please.

 

[juiceismyantidrug]

This article is old, and most of you have probably seen it but I figured I would post it because it does have some good info, most notably the following: "Oxandrolone has been extensively studied in children with growth disorders and adult men with alcoholic hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that is often accompanied by wasting. It has been shown very safe and effective for treating alcoholic hepatitis-related wasting, and it is believed that the metabolic problems associated with this condition are similar to those found in HIV-wasting."


Little Orphan Warbucks: Old drug gets a new use ... and a great big new price-tag

The Bay Area Reporter - July 8, 1996
Stephen LeBlanc and Rob Sabados, ACT UP/Golden Gate Writers Pool

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More and more People with AIDS are beginning to realize what some activists and more aggressive HIV-doctors have been saying for years: AIDS-associated wasting is not an irreversible consequence of AIDS, but is an AIDS-associated condition that can be effectively treated.
People who are wasting can, with appropriate treatment, regain and maintain their normal weight and have a good quality of life, possibly indefinitely. Yet even in HIV-affected communities where aggressive prophylaxis for OIs like PCP, MAC, or fungus are common, wasting is a leading cause of death to people with AIDS, and it's becoming clear that many of these deaths are preventable.

One effective treatment for HIV-related wasting, oxandrolone, has been available by prescription for over 30 years. It potentially could have prevented countless deaths from HIV-associated wasting. However, it is rarely used for people with AIDS and has not yet been thoroughly studied in that population. Oxandrolone has been found to be reasonably safe and effective for children and for people with alcohol-related liver-disease. The drug is taken orally and has few significant side effects at dosages effective against severe chronic wasting. It is extremely cheap to manufacture; however, its manufacturer has chosen to artificially and exploitively inflate the price of oxandrolone. Oxandrolone has been extensively studied in children with growth disorders and adult men with alcoholic hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that is often accompanied by wasting. It has been shown very safe and effective for treating alcoholic hepatitis-related wasting, and it is believed that the metabolic problems associated with this condition are similar to those found in HIV-wasting.

Doctors' reluctance to prescribe oxandrolone, and PWAs' unawareness of it arise from a number of reasons that have nothing to do with good quality healthcare. One important reason is that oxandrolone is in a class of drugs known as anabolic steroids. These drugs are sometimes used by athletes to enhance strength or performance and over the past several decades have been unfairly demonized. In fact, oxandrolone at therapeutic dosages is a proven safe and effective drug for treating wasting and is not commonly associated with the dangerous side effects of other steroids, though those warnings are required to appear on the label.

Typical of many doctors was the attitude Dr. Duane Goldberg reported in the spring 1996 issue of UC-Fresno's Inline Magazine. Dr. Goldberg prescribed oxandrolone under the brand name Anavar for a patient who had been diagnosed with AIDS for two years and had wasted from an athletic 6' 2" 210 pounds to 150 pounds.

"To tell you the truth," Goldberg said, "I really didn't want to prescribe the Anavar as I wasn't sure what would happen. The literature I had read was brand new, only tried on a few patients back east. But I had to do something."

Goldberg's patient was a man similar to many PWAs who enter a wasting state and often give up hope and die without ever receiving effective anti-wasting treatment. "I was dying, fast. I didn't want to eat, and I was extremely weak," he reports. "Now, I'm back up to 190 pounds, and my immune system is healthy. I have no doubt that this is because of Anavar."

Pros and cons

Unlike other anabolic steroids, such as testosterone, oxandrolone is minimally metabolized by the liver, thereby avoiding most drug interactions and the liver toxicity often seen with other steroids. Even people whose livers where badly damaged by alcohol, and therefore were unable to take many drugs, did well on oxandrolone.

Oxandrolone has been approved by the FDA since the early 1960's at a dosage of five to ten milligrams per day for conditions that included weight loss "due to extensive surgery, chronic infection, severe trauma, failure to gain or maintain weight without definite pathophysiologic reasons [and] protein catabolism due to prolonged corticosteroid administration." Since HIV wasting is the result of a chronic infection and is often without definite cause, oxandrolone is clearly indicated and FDA approved for HIV-related wasting at the dose of 5-10 mg per day.

However, based upon studies in alcoholic hepatitis patients and more limited studies in people with AIDS, many researchers and activists believe that the effective dose of oxandrolone may be much higher than the FDA indicated dose, 40 to 80 mg per day. Although the approved dose is only ten mg per day, many physicians have prescribed higher, "off-label" doses of oxandrolone. At the present time, insurance companies are in general covering the cost of oxandrolone, but some have reportedly balked at paying for the full effective dose because it is not "FDA approved." This, however, is something of a misuse of an FDA approval. While many insurance policies have exclusion clauses for "experimental" treatments, using a drug that has been approved and shown effective for its intended purpose cannot fairly be characterized as experimental.

Like all anabolic steroids, oxandrolone is a Schedule III controlled substance, which discourages some physicians from prescribing it, especially at dosages higher than the norm. As a result, a patient may need to persuade their doctor to prescribe it.

Some research in children suggests that oxandrolone increases the efficacy of human growth hormone, which is also being studied as a treatment for wasting. By combining oxandrolone with growth hormone, it may be possible to reduce the amount of growth hormone needed. Since growth hormone currently costs about $50,000 per year, a price that may double if growth hormone is approved, a growth hormone/oxandrolone combination may provide the same benefits at combating wasting with significant cost savings.

$15 for 10 mg - wholesale

The current cost of oxandrolone is another factor that deserves the attention of people with AIDS. The drug has been on the market long enough for all patents on it to expire, and therefore it should be available as a generic. Until recently, the drug was sold and manufactured by Searle Laboratories under the trade name Anavar, and by SPA Labs in Europe under the names Lipidex, Antitriol, or Lonavar. The drug was favored by bodybuilders for its low toxicity and few side effects.

The drug was discontinued by Searle Laboratories in 1989, apparently in part because of bad publicity due to its illegal use by bodybuilders, and was picked up by New Jersey-based Bio-Technology General Corp. In a press release dated December 5, 1995, Bio-Technology General Corp. announced "its first major U.S. drug launch: Oxandrin(r) oxandrolone." The press release did not mention oxadralone's thirty year history as a treatment for wasting. It did state, however, that "The recommended adult dose of Oxandrin is 2.5 mg to 20mg per day. At an average wholesale price of $3.75 per 2.5 mg tablet, Oxandrin is a cost-effective therapy for involuntary weight loss. As with all anabolic agents, Oxandrin is classified as a Schedule III controlled substance and has been assigned a classic black box warning relating to liver and coronary artery disease."

BTG's press release also explained that "AIDS wasting indications have been granted Orphan Drug designation by the FDA. This designation is granted to drugs for rare diseases or conditions with a prevalence of less than 200,000 cases in the United States and provides the manufacturer with seven years of market exclusivity post approval."

At first look, this seems a grotesque misuse of the Orphan Drug designation to make a formally inexpensively available generic drug more than ten times more expensive. People with AIDS need to carefully examine this use of the Orphan Drug Act to give a company exclusive marketing rights (and therefore a monopoly) for a drug that has been available to treat wasting for more than 30 years.

ACTion UPdate:

Yolk the Ox

BTG is planning further studies of Oxandrin to determine what doses most effectively treat HIV-wasting disorder. ACT UP/Golden Gate has successfully urged BTG to include women, hemophiliacs, and people on protease inhibitors in these studies. We continue to demand that BioTechnology General include detailed immunological monitoring of study participants.

The BTG press release also helpfully listed company contacts, should people with AIDS wish to express their opinion of BTG's price and marketing strategy directly. Call Bio-Technology General Corp.'s Director of Sales Operations Peggy Ference at (505) 822-8820 or her voice-mail at (800) 284-2480, extension 508, Leah Berkovits at (908) 632-8800 or their investor relations representative Don Weinberger at (516) 829-7111.
960708
BR960702

 

[liftsiron]

HUCKLEBERRY FINNaplex LOL,that study is extremely outdated,poorly done,and been disproven over and over through consequent studies.Ox is used in alcoholic hepatitis to IMPROVE liver values/functionality.I would take that study with a very tiny grain of salt.

I agree!!!! Anavar more toxic than winny or even 150mg of A-50 to the liver, give us a fucking break, I suggest that you print out the study and wipe your ass with it. Thank you and good day

 

[buffdoc]

id like to know if this is true. Someone once said on a board, that the study with alcoholics and anavar, that the alcoholics STOPPED DRINKING when they were given the anavar. And this is why their liver values seemed to get better. I havent read that study, id just like to know if this is true.

I said this (someone else may have also). Actually, what I said was that the Oxandrin/alcoholic hepatitis studies were done in a VA hospital setting. It MAY be that these were in-patients who were unable to drink, or that abstinence from alcohol was required to participate in the study. I believe the former scenario is much more likely; most alcoholics will NOT stop drinking to be in a study, and many will only stop when hospitalized.
So it may indeed be that Oxandrin was not the cause of liver enzymes improving, in may have been abstinence.
Also, Anadrol showed no elevated liver enzymes until 1999, when it's been on the market for a year and a half! Whoop-de-doo!

 

[buffdoc]

Sound like that states that everything is the opposite of what we all know.
"and while it is thought to be toxic to the liver, we had not had one report of Anadrol at doses as high as 150 mg per day causing elevated liver enzymes"....oh please.

What the article actually said was, the above plus:
"...until July 1999 after Anadrol had been on the market for a year and a half."
Why that's supposed to make us feel good about Anadrol, I don't know.

 

[buffdoc]

One more comment about the oxandrin/alcoholic hepatitis studies. I've said this before and I'll repeat it. Don't let our desire for oxandrolone to be THE non-toxic oral 17-aa steroid blind us to the facts.
All we can say from the studies is this:
1) Ox was helpful in muscle wasting in alcoholic men w/ alc hepatitis. Period. End of story.

What we CANNOT say is this:
1) Ox improved the liver enzymes, or the hepatitis. I think abstinence did that. In patients w/ alcoholic hep, enzymes will often normalize within a few DAYS w/ abstinence.
2) Ox is not toxic to the liver.
3) Ox would be beneficial for livers with other hepatitides (viral B and C, autoimmune, etc., or cirrhosis).
4) Ox plus alcohol would not be a disaster ;-)
5) On a mg per mg basis, Ox is not a toxic as oxymetholone, etc.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like Ox! I would not at this point ever use oxymetholone (Anadrol). But we MUST look at these studies critically, and not through the lens of wishful thinking or personal bias.
Flame on!

 

[HUCKLEBERRY FINNaplex]

Actually,I do agree with you on that buffdoc.Hepatoxicity can not be ruled out and proper precautionary measures should be in place(regular bloodwork,liver aids,etc.).I definitely don't think ox is as hepatoxic as it's other c-17aa counterparts though.My own bloodwork has substantiated this for myelf.Winstrol and d-bol were much more stressful on my readings.But I do agree that caution should not be just tossed into the wind.

 

[buffdoc]

Yeah, and I hope we're right. Ox seems to be a nice, clean drug, at least in comparison to the other orals.