SERUM ANDROGEN LEVELS ARE ELEVATED AFTER TOPICAL APPLICATION OF 4-ANDROSTENEDIOL

The objective of this study was to determine if a single administration of a commercially available topical 4-androstenediol (ANDRO) product would result in elevated androgen levels. In a randomly assigned, double blind fashion, nine healthy young, sedentary males (25.2 ± 4.8 y, 179.2 ± 5.8 cm, 88.3 ± 11.5 kg, 17.6 ± 4.3 BF%) were administered either the product (EXP) or placebo (PLA) at the same time of day (0700–0900 h) on two different occasions. Treatment consisted of topical, aerosol application of 10 ml (500 mg) ANDRO in isopropyl alcohol (EXP) or alcohol only (PLA), and were separated by a one-week washout. Resting blood samples were taken immediately prior to (T0) and 1, 2, 3, 10, 24, 48 and 72 h (T1, T2, T3, T10, T24, T48, and T72 respectively) post-application. Subjects were instructed to refrain from strenuous activity and maintained diet records during the study period. Free (FT) and total testosterone (TT) were determined by radioimmunoassay. Using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA, a significant (p < .05) treatment effect was observed where serum FT levels were higher in EXP relative to PLA over the 72 h sampling period. An interaction between time and treatment resulted in elevations for TT in EXP (28.15 ± 4.30 and 26.41 ± 3.67 nmol/l) vs. PLA (15.85 ± 2.63 and 19.9 ± 3.76 nmol/l) at T10 and T24, respectively (p < .05). In conclusion, a single topical administration of 4-androstenediol does result in elevated serum androgen levels, and these levels may remain elevated for up to 72 h. These data may have implications for athletes who self-administer over-the-counter andro products prior to tested competitions. Supported by a grant from Biotest Labs.