Is Ephedrine Anti-catabolic???

[nandi12]

Epehedra can cause BPH

Ephedra does not cause BPH. It mimics the symptoms of BPH by causing urinary retention, and a difficulty in voiding. It does this by acting as an agonist for alpha 1 receptors in the sphincter muscles at the base of the bladder, inhibiting their relaxation. I know from experience, since I took Hytrin (an alpha 1 antagonist) to help the urinary symtoms while I was taking Proscar to treat BPH.

A positive nitrogen balance DOES reflect protein assimilation and either reduced catabolism or increased anabolism. What one cannot conclude from this study is that the anticatabolic effect of the ephedrine is primarily due to decreased skeletal muscle breakdown or decreased organ tissue breakdown. This is why I used the general term anabolic, rather than stating specifically that the study suggests decreased skeletal muscle breakdown.

In fact, the lack of difference in 3-methylhistidine excretion (a marker of myofibrillar breakdown) would normally suggest that the ephedrine has no effect on skeletal muscle protein synthesis/breakdown. However, that may not be the case here since studies have shown that in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes overall nitrogen balance is a better marker of muscle protein kinetics than is 3-methylhistidine. Since these subjects were obese, there is an increased liklihood that some were type 2 diabetics. I certainly agree that it is impossible to draw any sweeping conclusions from one such study.