CHANGES IN LIPOPROTEIN-LIPID LEVELS IN NORMAL MEN FOLLOWING ADMINISTRATION OF INCREASING DOSES OF TESTOSTERONE CYPIONATE

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between anabolic-androgenic steroids and lipoprotein levels in men re ceiving weekly injections of gradually escalating doses of up to 600 m g/week of testosterone cypionate. Design: The design was a placebo-con trolled, double-blind, 24-week cross-over design in which subjects wer e randomized to one of two treatment sequences: (a) weekly testosteron e cypionate injections for 6 weeks, no treatment for 6 weeks, weekly p lacebo injections for 6 weeks, and then again no treatment for 6 weeks ; or (b) placebo, no treatment, testosterone, and then no treatment, w ith each interval also lasting 6 weeks as in the first sequence. Setti ng: The setting was a private hospital. Participants: Participants wer e normal male volunteers. Interventions: Testosterone cypionate inject ions were given in gradually increasing doses of 150 mg/week for 2 wee ks, 300 mg/week for 2 weeks, and 600 mg/week for 2 weeks. Eight subjec ts received testosterone injections during the first injection phase a nd placebo during the second injection phase, and the remaining eight subjects received placebo first and testosterone second. Results: We f ound a 21% depression of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels following the first 300-mg testosterone dose. This depression r emained unchanged after the two 600-mg doses. In contrast, we did not find any changes in low-density lipoprotein or total cholesterol level s at any of the time points studied. Subjects' total cholesterol/HDL-C ratios were significantly elevated during testosterone administration and even 4 weeks following the last injection. Conclusion: Our findin gs suggest that testosterone cypionate adversely affects cholesterol f ractions, that this effect reaches its full magnitude even at very mod estly supraphysiologic doses, and that this effect persists for severa l weeks after discontinuation of the drug.