4AD (Aderm Guinea Pig 2 reporting in.

May 2004
King’s College London Study cited in US Government White Paper.

Scientific evidence provided by a recent research study undertaken by scientists within the Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Division of the School of Health and Life Sciences, King’s College London (Kicman, Bassindale, Cowan, Dale, Hutt and Leeds) has been used by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a U.S. White Paper. Moreover, the FDA has advised companies to cease distributing products sold as dietary supplements that contain androstenedione also known as andro. An FDA press release stated that “While andro products may seem to have short-term benefits, the science shows that these same properties create real and significant health risks”.

Manufacturers’ market androstenedione as a ‘prohormone’ that can increase blood testosterone concentration, resulting in increased lean body mass and strength, but results from a number of studies on men indicate that testosterone is only raised marginally, if at all, but estrogens can be augmented. By contrast, the effect of androstenedione ingestion in women has not been reported until recently. In the King’s investigation, initiated by scientists at the Drug Control Centre, ingestion of a single dose (100 mg) of androstenedione caused blood testosterone in ten young women to increase by an average of 16-fold, well into the high end of the male range, concentrations being similar to those encountered in abuse of testosterone for anabolic purposes. It follows that, if androstenedione was repeatedly used, it may cause irreversible masculinizing effects in women. Worried by potential risks of ‘andro’ to the health of both men and women, the US Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to 23 companies asking them to cease distributing products sold as dietary supplements that contain androstenedione and warning them that they could face enforcement actions if they do not take appropriate actions.*