Androgenic Anabolic Steroids and Their Impact on Immunity.
You may find this publication not so interesting – after all, not everyone uses the substances hidden behind the abbreviation AAS.
Although the circle of testosterone users is quite wide, including not only athletes but also elderly men who are prescribed hormone replacement therapy.
In this publication, we will discuss how "anabolics" affect immunity.
Brief Preface
It is generally believed that androgenic anabolic steroids negatively affect the performance of the immune system – to put it mildly.
There are reasons for this opinion, but overall, it is far from the truth.
Meanwhile, elderly men with weakened immunity tend to avoid hormone replacement therapy, believing it will further harm their immunity. When in fact, the situation is quite the opposite. But let's take it step by step.
What is Immunity?
To put it figuratively, the immune system has two "arms" – cellular and humoral. Regarding these "arms," it is entirely accurate to say that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing – they work very cohesively.
In fact, it is very difficult to pinpoint exactly where cellular immunity ends and humoral immunity begins – they often work in close conjunction. However, it can be said that cellular immune response is primarily directed against microorganisms.
The cellular immunity system relies on special cells – lymphocytes and phagocytes – and is especially effective in protecting against fungi, protozoa, intracellular bacteria, and tumor cells.
Humoral immunity, in turn, is directed at recognizing specific antigens (causing, for example, flu, otitis, sinusitis, etc.) and fighting them.
It is based on the formation of antibodies to each antigen (foreign substance) that enters the human body – both harmful and beneficial, and is represented by various proteins, including interferons, which can make cells resistant to foreign agents.
Androgenic Anabolic Steroids and Immunity
Thus, the cellular immunity system fights primarily against microorganisms, while the humoral system fights so-called viruses. Again, this is a significant simplification, but our goal here is not to delve into all the secrets of immunity.
Testosterone
It is known that women suffer from arthritis more often than men, and the disease is more severe in women. This can primarily be explained by the difference in hormonal backgrounds between men and women – men have much higher testosterone levels in their blood.
Digging a bit deeper, scientists have found that testosterone can somewhat inhibit the formation of inflammatory processes; furthermore, in its presence, the inflammatory process proceeds much easier.
The conclusion was drawn: testosterone can somewhat suppress cellular immunity, which helps reduce inflammatory processes (surprisingly, in this case, suppressing immunity is beneficial). This conclusion was later confirmed by several other studies.
Nandrolone Decanoate
However, the situation with other androgenic anabolic steroids is not so straightforward. It turned out that using nandrolone decanoate can increase cellular immunity, particularly due to the increased activity of macrophage cells.
Nandrolone decanoate has also proven to be a useful drug for treating rheumatoid arthritis, which is often caused by infections – it helps reduce inflammation effectively and prevents the spread of infection.
Use of AAS in Medicine
Moving further. It is well known that androgenic anabolic steroids are increasingly used in therapy for patients suffering from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome – they help prevent the inevitable muscle loss in such patients.
AAS are also frequently used in the postoperative period for treating oncology and cardiovascular diseases. It has been found that in AIDS patients, the use of AAS (mainly oxymetholone and nandrolone) significantly enhances the immune response – in this case, we are talking about the humoral mechanism.
Moreover, nandrolone decanoate increases the body's resistance to infections weakened by chemotherapy, without affecting the growth of cancer cells.
Thus, regarding humoral immunity, it can be almost unequivocally concluded that all androgenic anabolic steroids strengthen it.
Of course, it is too early to make definitive conclusions about the impact of AAS on immunity – that's why I called these findings preliminary. It can be said for sure that the specific drug used is crucial.
In other words, the impact of androgenic anabolic steroids on immunity can vary significantly. It should be taken into account that testosterone (and several similar substances) can reduce cellular immunity while enhancing humoral immunity.
When using substances that negatively affect cellular immunity, there is a higher likelihood of tumor formation at injection sites and a lower resistance to colds, most of which are caused by microorganisms.
At the same time, the risk of contracting a severe viral infection decreases. And drugs like nandrolone, and likely oxymetholone and trenbolone, can also enhance cellular immunity. Thus, at least three drugs can be identified that definitely boost overall immunity.
Nandrolone is a very interesting drug: it can reduce inflammatory processes in the body through different mechanisms – this applies to muscle fibers, joints, and soft tissues.
It should be used (despite my dislike for it) during the stage of intense training to combat possible microtraumas and accompanying inflammations. And for general immunity boosting.
However, the weekly dose should be very modest – in most cases not exceeding 100 mg.
Conclusion
"Anabolics" are very interesting and promising drugs, and I never tire of repeating that. You just need to know what to use and for what purpose, and not get carried away with excessive dosages.
Log in with ( Sign Up ? )
or post as a guest
Be the first to comment.