Nandrolone

Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid that may be present naturally in the human body, albeit in minute quantities of less than 0.4 ng/ml. Nandrolone is most commonly sold commercially as its decanoate ester (Deca-Durabolin) and less commonly as a phenylpropionate ester (Durabolin). Nandrolone decanoate is used in the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women (though now not recommended) at a dose of 50 mg every three weeks. It is also used for some aplastic anaemias.

Metabolism

The positive effects of the drug include muscle growth, appetite stimulation and increased red blood cell production and bone density. Clinical studies have shown it to be effective in treating anaemia, osteoporosis and some forms of neoplasia including breast cancer, and also acts as a progestin-based contraceptive. For these reasons[citation needed], in the United States nandrolone received FDA approval in 1983.

Because nandrolone is not broken down into DHT, the deleterious effects common to most anabolic steroids on the scalp, skin, and prostate are lessened to a degree; but is rather broken down to the much weaker androgen dihydronandrolone. The lack of alkylation on the 17α-carbon drastically reduces the drug's liver toxicity. Estrogenic effects resulting from reaction with aromatase are also mitigated as a result of the drug being a progestin, but effects such as gynaecomastia and reduced libido still occur in larger doses. Other side-effects can include erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular damage, as well as several ailments resulting from the drug's effect of lowering levels of luteinizing hormone through negative feedback.

Detection methods

Nandrolone use is indirectly detectable in urine tests by testing for the presence of 19-norandrosterone, a metabolite of this molecule. The International Olympic Committee has set a limit of 2.0 ng per ml of urine as the upper limit, beyond which an athlete is suspected of doping, and in the largest Nandrolone study performed on 621 athletes at the 1998 Nagano Olympic games no athlete tested over 0.4 ng per ml.

Heavy consumption of the essential amino acid lysine (as indicated in the treatment of cold sores) has allegedly shown false positives in some and was cited by American Shotputter C.J. Hunter as the reason for his positive test, though in 2004 he admitted to a federal grand jury that he had injected Nandrolone [2]. A final possible cause of incorrect urine test results is the presence of metabolites from other anabolic steroids, though modern urinalysis can determine the exact steroid used by analyzing the ratio of the two remaining Nandrolone metabolites. As a result of the numerous overturned verdicts, the testing procedure was reviewed by UK Sport [3] in 2000.

Summary

The drug is moderately effective at doses of 400 mg/week. The long half-life of nandrolone decanoate makes it unsuited to short alternating cycles, but suitable for more traditional cycles, with a built-in self-tapering effect in the weeks following the last injection.

Nandrolone decanoate is the chemical name of active ingredient in Deca Durabolin. Deca Durabolin is a registered trademark of Organon Corporation in the United States and/or other countries

Nandrolone Profile

Systematic (IUPAC) name	17β-Hydroxyestra-4-en-3-one
Formula	C18H26O2
Mol. mass	274.40
Bioavailability	2.24% (Oral) 100% (Intramuscular)
Metabolism	Hepatic
Half life	6 days
Excretion	approx 21 days
Pregnancy cat.	X (US) X (AUS)
Legal status	Schedule III (US) POM (UK)
Routes	Intramuscular

Source: wikipedia