Anabolic Steroids Used for Weight Gain of HIV Patients

   
People with HIV suffer from a condition referred to as HIV wasting. This condition is characterized by involuntary loss of about 10% of the total body weight, often coupled with prolonged diarrhea, fever, or weakness. In HIV wasting, the weight loss is attributed to the loss of lean body mass or muscle mass.anabolic steroids

HIV wasting is caused by several factors, one of which is reduced food intake. HIV patients usually consume less food because they have low appetite. Furthermore, the medicines they take also have side effects that make them eat less.

Another factor that causes wasting in HIV patients is that their small intestine, affected by infections brought about by the disease, does not absorb nutrients effectively anymore. Finally, HIV patients experience wasting because their body's metabolism is altered. The disease affects the way their body processes food and builds up protein.

A study conducted in 2005 showed that HIV patients have a chance to gain the weight they lost to wasting. This can be made possible by treating them with anabolic steroids.
The study involved HIV patients with ages ranging from 24 to 42. A total of 294 individuals were given anabolic steroids, which they took for 6 weeks, while 238 individuals were given the placebo. At the end of the study, those who took the anabolic steroids showed weight gain of almost three pounds.

According to medical experts, this amount of weight gained because of steroid intake is clinically relevant. This positive result has birthed the hope that more of the weight lost because of wasting can be regained by longer treatment of anabolic steroids.

Although more research is needed to establish this principle, the result of the study definitely brings good news to HIV patients. Scientists and medical experts have been trying for a long time to reverse the effect of HIV wasting, which can lead to extreme muscle loss and weakness. Wasting can even cause organs to fail and make the patient die more quickly. People with HIV or AIDS suffer from reduced testosterone levels, and their bodies are unable to build muscle mass.

So what are anabolic steroids? These are synthetic steroids that have the same characteristics as testosterone, which is the male sex hormone. They help the body to grow skeletal muscles.

Anabolic steroids have been made largely unpopular primarily because athletes misuse and abuse these products. However, they do have important medical applications and are being used to treat certain medical conditions like low testosterone level for men and anemia. Now this study involving the use of anabolic steroids for the treatment of HIV wasting proves once again that these substances have a significant role in the field of medicine.

In this study, the patients either took the anabolic steroids orally or through an injection. The side effects reported include acne, mood swings, slight increase in growth of body hair, aggressiveness, abnormal liver function tests, and irritability, which are all common manifestations of using anabolic steroids.

More study is needed to confirm if the weight gain caused by anabolic steroid intake will bring about an improvement in the patients quality of life. Experts also still need to determine how much gain weight translates to a successful result of treatment with Anabolic Steroids.

All you need to know about Anadrol

Anadrol is a synthetic anabolic steroid with an active component called Oxymetholone which makes it the strongest androgenic steroid available. It was initially developed for therapeutic purposes due to its pharmacological properties useful for patients of anemia and osteoporosis. It is an effective agent for promoting weight gain, increasing appetite, gaining strength and increasing red blood cell count.

Therapeutic features of Anadrol:
Many people with chronic illnesses, such as cancer, certain types of infections, or renal diseases etc. are also anemic. Anadrol is the only oral anabolic steroid that has been approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for anemia treatment as it enhances the erythropoietin production which further increases the production of new red blood cells. Unlike some other anabolic steroids, which must be injected often, Anadrol (GP Oxy) is an easy to use oral tablet.

Possible Side Effects of Anadrol:

- Hepatic Toxicity: Anadrol has been associated with liver toxicity, specifically, Peliosis hepatic which a condition in which liver and sometimes splenic tissue is replaced with blood-filled cysts which are sometimes present with minimal hepatic dysfunction, but may also lead to complete liver failure in extreme cases. They are often not recognized until life-threatening intra-abdominal hemorrhage develops.

- Hepatic Carcinoma: Some cases of benign and androgen-dependent, hepatic carcinoma have been reported along with few fatal malignancies in patients receiving Anadrol treatment. These tumors are much more vascular than other hepatic tumors and may be silent until life-threatening intra-abdominal hemorrhage develops.

- Cardio-vascular complications: Anadrol may also affect the levels of certain lipids that have known association with an increased risk of certain types of cardio-vascular diseases. Many patients treated with androgens like Anadrol have shown increased susceptibility to atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.

- Miscellaneous: As Anadrol is chemically similar to the predominantly male hormone - testosterone, women taking Anadrol are at risk for developing various masculine features like facial/body hair &/or a deeper voice.

However, withdrawal of Anadrol often results in regression or cessation of hepatic toxicity or progression of liver carcinoma.

Precautions:
Various reports indicate that Anadrol should neither be administered to males with prostate carcinoma nor to females with hypercalcemia (presence of abnormally high levels of calcium in the blood), breast carcinoma or those women who are or may become pregnant in near future.

Mild Steroid Oxandrolone

Anavar is the trademark name of the anabolic steroid, Oxandrolone (Oxandrin), created by Pfizer, Inc. Introduced in the US in 1964, Anavar is considered a Class I steroid. It is taken orally and has few known side Oxandroloneeffects, binding well with the androgen receptor when taken in sufficient dosage.

General benefits
Compared to other anabolic steroids available in the market Anavar is mildly anabolic, only slightly androgenic, and is not very toxic. It is also mild on the body's Hypothalamic-Testicular-Pituitary-Axis (HPTA) and does not aromatize or convert to estrogen a major problem for stronger anabolic steroids, which causes unwanted breast tissue to form (man boobs), called gynecomastia. As with any anabolic steroid however, high dosage of Anavar can reduce the production of luteinizing hormone (LH), halting the stimulation of Leydig cells in testicles to produce testosterone, and therefore can cause the testes to shrink or to atrophy. High dosages of Anavar (about 40-50mg) require Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) to stabilize protein catabolism and normalize the bodys testosterone secretion. Anavar is also very popular because of its fat burning capability. Called a "fat-burning steroid," Anavar is said to reduce abdominal and visceral fat for those with the low to normal natural testosterone range.

Medical use
Doctors usually prescribe Anavar for halting wasting related to AIDS and recovering involuntary weight loss to promote the regrowth of muscles. The drug Oxandrolone has also been used in treating cases of Osteoporosis in the past, showing partially successful results. Due to bad publicity in the abuse of the steroid however, Searle Laboratories (now Pfizer, Inc.) discontinued the sale of oxandrolone, but was later picked up by Bio-Technology General Corporation (now Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), released in 1995 under the trademark name Oxandrin. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Oxandrolone for orphan drug status in treating weight loss caused by HIV, Turner's syndrome, and alcoholic hepatitis. Oxandrolone (GP Oxan) has also showed positive results in treating hereditary angioedema and anemia. In a study of the effect of Oxandrolone on burnt victims, those treated with Oxandrolone were found to have improved body composition, reduce hospital stay time, and preserved muscle mass.

Some precautions
Because Anavar is a mild steroid, it may require a higher dosage compared to stronger steroids. It is not without side effects however. Those thinking of upping their dosage for this drug just because it is comparably mild should think twice. Some studies show that there is a link between the prolonged use of Anavar and liver toxicity, similar to the effects of 17-alkylated steroids. Even in lesser dosages, some users have reported side effects such as nausea, bloating, itching (hives), gastro-intestinal problems, depression, skin rash, diarrhea, yellowing of the skin or eyes, unusual bleeding, swelling, and unusually colored stools. In rare cases, serious or even fatal liver problems can occur, as well as the development of heart disease. Regular laboratory testing is highly recommended when taking this drug, to closely monitor the liver and to ensure that low density lipoprotein (LDL; also called the bad cholesterol) has not increased.
For bodybuilders, normal dose for a first time Anavar user is considered to be at 10-30 mgs per day. However, 10 mg may be sufficient for someone who has never taken anabolic steroids beforehand. Higher dosages may lead to androgen receptor damage, HPTA suppression, and liver damage.