EFFECTS OF THE ANABOLIC-STEROID NANDROLONE PHENYLPROPIONATE ON CRANIOFACIAL GROWTH IN RATS

Primary testosterone and its derivatives are anabolic steroids used in the treatment of osteoporosis and Turner syndrome. They also enhance fast-twitch muscle weight in female rats. The present study examines t he effect of an anabolic steroid on craniofacial growth and developmen t in rats. Five-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats (125) were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was inje cted subcutaneously with 1 mg nandrolone phenylpropionate in the inter scapular region on alternate days, whereas those in the control group were injected with a vehicle, arachis oil. Rats were sacrificed at 60 and 120 days of age. Cephalometric analysis of soft X-ray cephalograms showed that chronic administration of the anabolic steroid, nandrolon e phenylpropionate, resulted in: (1) about a 20% increase in body weig ht, (2) an increase in total skull length, (3) elongation of the maxil lary and mandibular incisors, (4) an increase in the depth of the ante gonial notch, and (5) downward-forward growth of the viscerocranium ag ainst the neurocranium. These results suggest that nandrolone phenylpr opionate may accelerate craniofacial growth and/or induce high functio nal activity of the masticatory muscles in female rats. (C) 1994 Wiley -Liss, Inc.