ReviewBritish journal of pharmacology2008
Pharmacology of anabolic steroids.
Review in British journal of pharmacology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 157 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
157 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 569 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of growth hormone and anabolic steroids, in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Anabolic Androgenic Steroids in Orthopaedic Surgery: Current Concepts and Clinical Applications.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Can conditions of skeletal muscle loss be improved by combining exercise with anabolic-androgenic steroids? A systematic review and meta-analysis of testosterone-based interventions.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids on the Reproductive System of Athletes and Recreational Users: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2017Pooled it
- Anabolic-androgenic steroid use and psychopathology in athletes. A systematic review.Current neuropharmacology · 2015Pooled it
- National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement: anabolic-androgenic steroids.Journal of athletic trainingGuideline
- A New Oral Testosterone Undecanoate Formulation Restores Testosterone to Normal Concentrations in Hypogonadal Men.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2020Trial
- Combined extracts of Garcinia mangostana fruit rind and Cinnamomum tamala leaf supplementation enhances muscle strength and endurance in resistance trained males.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2018Trial
- Reduced Postburn Hypertrophic Scarring and Improved Physical Recovery With Yearlong Administration of Oxandrolone and Propranolol.Annals of surgery · 2018Trial
- Stanozolol, an anabolic-androgenic steroid, modulates expression of receptors and disrupts uterine histoarchitecture in Mus musculus.Journal of molecular histology · 2026Article
- Comparing the Stability and Detectability of Testosterone Esters in Capillary Serum, Sodium Fluoride-Containing Plasma, and Dried Blood Spots After Testosterone Ester Administration.Drug testing and analysis · 2026Article
- [Legal and societal aspects of doping in sport].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026Review
- Cardiovascular Implications of the Enhanced Games: Performance Enhancing Drugs in Competition and Recreation.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- Health consequences of anabolic steroids: a sexual-medicine perspective.International journal of impotence research · 2026Review
- Steroidal Compounds at the Crossroads of Inflammation and Cancer: Implications for Drug Discovery and Therapy.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: Emerging Use Disorder, Mechanisms of Action, and Clinical Considerations for Pharmacotherapy.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2026Article
- Treatment of Symptomatic Male Hypogonadism with New Oral Testosterone Therapies: A Comparative Review of Jatenzo, Tlando, and Kyzatrex.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Testosterone replacement therapy and spermatogenesis in reproductive age men.Nature reviews. Urology · 2025Review
- Adulteration of Sports Supplements with Anabolic Steroids-From Innocent Athlete to Vicious Cheater.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Review
97 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Athletes and bodybuilders have recognized for several decades that the use of anabolic steroids can promote muscle growth and strength but it is only relatively recently that these agents are being revisited for clinical purposes. Anabolic steroids are being considered for the treatment of cachexia associated with chronic disease states, and to address loss of muscle mass in the elderly, but nevertheless their efficacy still needs to be demonstrated in terms of improved physical function and quality of life. In sport, these agents are performance enhancers, this being particularly apparent in women, although there is a high risk of virilization despite the favourable myotrophic-androgenic dissociation that many xenobiotic steroids confer. Modulation of androgen receptor expression appears to be key to partial dissociation, with consideration of both intracellular steroid metabolism and the topology of the bound androgen receptor interacting with co-activators. An anticatabolic effect, by interfering with glucocorticoid receptor expression, remains an attractive hypothesis. Behavioural changes by non-genomic and genomic pathways probably help motivate training. Anabolic steroids continue to be the most common adverse finding in sport and, although apparently rare, designer steroids have been synthesized in an attempt to circumvent the dope test. Doping with anabolic steroids can result in damage to health, as recorded meticulously in the former German Democratic Republic. Even so, it is important not to exaggerate the medical risks associated with their administration for sporting or bodybuilding purposes but to emphasize to users that an attitude of personal invulnerability to their adverse effects is certainly misguided.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.