HMS Study Focuses On `Andro'

Media coverage of Mark McGwire's 70-home-run summer focused national attention on everything from his sock color to his typical breakfast.

But concern has lingered about his use of the dietary supplement androstenedione, a substance which builds muscle mass but has been banned by many sports organizations.

And now, though some felt Major League Baseball (MLB) would not want to raise questions about "andro" which could tarnish McGwire's image, two Harvard Medical School (HMS) researchers have contracted with MLB for a new study of the substance's effects.

Joel S. Finkelstein, an assistant professor of medicine at HMS, and Benjamin Z. Leder, a clinical fellow in medicine, are currently conducting the study at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of HMS's teaching hospitals.

Androstenedione is a synthetic human hormone similar to a family of hormones known as androgens. Finkelstein had previously done research with androgens, and says this research motivated his desire to study androstenedione.

He brought the idea to baseball administrators, and won funding for the project from both the MLB and the Major League Baseball Players' Association.

Critics claim that androstenedione provides a competitive advantage such as that conferred by steroids, which are banned by the league.

After androstenedione is ingested, the synthetic hormone is converted to the male hormone testosterone by natural pathways within the body.

In combination with training, high levels of testosterone accelerate the process by which the body builds muscle. For this reason, as well as their powerful side effects, anabolic steroids which are essentially synthetic versions of testosterone have long been banned by organizations like MLB.

But androstenedione's proponents argue that, should levels of testosterone become too high, the body will automatically inhibit the pathway through which androstenedione is converted to testosterone. Thus many of the side effects of anabolic steroids could be avoided.

Those who criticize the compound claim that many adverse side effects of steroids do not develop until years after use. Because of the relatively lax regulations on dietary supplements by the FDA, there is no documenation on androstenedione's long-term effects.

MLB does not currently prohibit androstenedione. However, it is banned by the International Olympic Committee, National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association.

In acknowledging his use of androstenedione to the Associated Press this summer, McGwire said he felt no shame and that the use of dietary supplements in baseball is wide-spread.

Scientists and pundits alike debated whether this revelation tainted McGwire's achievement.

McGwire used androstenedione manufactured by Champion Nutrition, which estimates that at least 100 professional baseball players use it, along with millions of users worldwide.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved androstenedione as a dietary supplement. The standards for approval in this category are far less strict than those for compounds classified as drugs.

For a dietary supplement, the FDA requires proof that the substance does not harm a user, but there need be no evidence of the benefits.

For this reason, a spokesperson for the FDA said, the organization can not comment on androstenedione's performance-enhancing capabilities.

A spokesperson for AST Sports Science, another manufacturer of androstenedione, says that independent laboratories have already concluded that androstenedione is safe for use. Therefore, he said, AST is not worried about the outcome of the HMS study.

The study conducted by Finkelstein and Leder will consist of giving male subjects doses of androstenedione over a period of several months, and measure its effects on their hormonal levels.

It will not, Finkelstein says, attempt to quantify the compound's ability to enhance performance.

Results of the study are not expected until later this year, well after the beginning of the baseball season in April.