Unlike most injectable AAS, stanozolol is not esterified and is sold as an aqueous suspension, or in oral tablet form.[8] The drug has a high oral bioavailability, due to a C17α alkylation which allows the hormone to survive first-pass liver metabolism when ingested.[10][8] It is because of this that stanozolol is also sold in tablet form.[8]
Stanozolol has been used with some success to treat venous insufficiency. It stimulates blood fibrinolysis and has been evaluated for the treatment of the more advanced skin changes in venous disease such as lipodermatosclerosis. Several randomized trials noted improvement in the area of lipodermatosclerosis, reduced skin thickness, and possibly faster ulcer healing rates with stanozolol.[14][15] It is also being studied to treat hereditary angioedema, osteoporosis, and skeletal muscle injury.[16][17]
Stanozolol is subject to extensive hepatic biotransformation by a variety of enzymatic pathways. The primary metabolites are unique to stanozolol and are detectable in the urine for up to 10 days after a single 5–10 mg oral dose. Methods for detection in urine specimens usually involve gas chromatography-mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.[24][25][26]
History
In 1962, Stanozolol was brought to market in the US by Winthrop under the tradename "Winstrol" and in Europe by Winthrop's partner, Bayer, under the name "Stromba".[27]
Also in 1962, the Kefauver Harris Amendment was passed, amending the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require drug manufacturers to provide proof of the effectiveness of their drugs before approval.[28] The FDA implemented its Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) program to study and regulate drugs, including stanozolol, that had been introduced prior to the amendment. The DESI program was intended to classify all pre-1962 drugs that were already on the market as effective, ineffective, or needing further study.[29] The FDA enlisted the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate publications on relevant drugs under the DESI program.[30]
In June 1970 the FDA announced its conclusions on the effectiveness of certain AAS, including stanozolol, based on the NAS/NRC reports made under DESI. The drugs were classified as probably effective as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of senile and postmenopausal osteoporosis but only as an adjunct, and in pituitary dwarfism (with a specific caveat for dwarfism, "until growth hormone is more available"), and as lacking substantial evidence of effectiveness for several other indications. Specifically, the FDA found a lack of efficacy for stanozolol as "an adjunct to promote body tissue-building processes and to reverse tissue-depleting processes in such conditions as malignant diseases and chronic nonmalignant diseases; debility in elderly patients, and other emaciating diseases; gastrointestinal disorders resulting in alterations of normal metabolism; use during pre-operative and postoperative periods in undernourished patients and poor-risk surgical cases due to traumatism; use in infants, children, and adolescents who do not reach an adequate weight; supportive treatment to help restore or maintain a favorable metabolic balance, as in postsurgical, postinfectious, and convalescent patients; of value in pre- operative patients who have lost tissue from a disease process or who have associated symptoms, such as anorexia; retention and utilization of calcium; surgical applications; gastrointestinal disease, malnourished adults, and chronic illness; pediatric nutritional problems; prostatic carcinoma; and endocrine deficiencies."[31] The FDA gave Sterling six months to stop marketing stanozolol for the indications for which there was no evidence for efficacy, and one year to submit further data for the two indications for which it found probable efficacy.[31]
In August and September 1970, Sterling submitted more data; the data was not sufficient but the FDA allowed the drug to continued to be marketed, since there was an unmet need for drugs for osteoporosis and pituitary dwarfism, but Sterling was required to submit more data.[32]
In 1980 the FDA removed the dwarfism indication from the label for stanozolol since human growth hormone drugs had come on the market, and mandated that the label for stanozolol and other steroids say: "As adjunctive therapy in senile and postmenopausal osteoporosis. AAS are without value as primary therapy but may be of value as adjunctive therapy. Equal or greater consideration should be given to diet, calcium balance, physiotherapy, and good general health promoting measures." and gave Sterling a timeline to submit further data for other indications it wanted for the drug.[33] Sterling submitted data to the FDA intended to support the effectiveness of Winstrol for postmenopausal osteoporosis and aplastic anemia in December, 1980 and August 1983 respectively. The FDA's Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee considered the data submitted for osteoporosis in two meetings held 1981 and the data for aplastic anemia in 1983.[32]
In April 1984, the FDA announced that the data was not sufficient, and withdrew the marketing authority for stanozolol for senile and postmenopausal osteoporosis and for raising hemoglobin levels in aplastic anemia.[32][34]
In 1988, Sterling was acquired by Eastman Kodak for $5.1 billion and in 1994 Kodak sold the drug business of Sterling to Sanofi for $1.675 billion.[35][36]
Sanofi had stanozolol manufactured in the US by Searle, which stopped making the drug in October 2002.[37] Even with no drug in production, Sanofi sold the stanozolol business to Ovation Pharmaceuticals in 2003, along with the two other drugs.[38] At that time, the drug had not been discontinued and was considered a treatment for hereditary angioedema.[38] In March 2009, Lundbeck purchased Ovation[39]
In 2010, Lundbeck withdrew stanozolol from the market in the US; as of 2014 no other company is marketing stanozolol as a pharmaceutical drug in the US but it can be obtained via a compounding pharmacy.[40][41][42][43]
Pfizer had marketed stanozolol as a veterinary drug; in 2013 Pfizer spun off its veterinary business to Zoetis[44] and in 2014 Pfizer transferred the authorizations to market injectable and tablet forms of stanozolol as a veterinary drug to Zoetis.[45][46]
It is used in veterinary medicine as an adjunct in the management of wasting diseases, to stimulate the formation of red blood cells, arouse appetite, and promote weight gain, but the evidence for these uses is weak. It is used as a performance-enhancing drug in race horses. Its side effects include weight gain, water retention, and difficulty eliminating nitrogen-based waste products and it is toxic to the liver, especially in cats. Because it may promote the growth of tumors, it is contraindicated in dogs with enlarged prostates.[47]: 730–371
Stanozolol and other AAS were commonly used to treat hereditary angioedema attacks, until several drugs were brought to market specifically for treatment of that disease, the first in 2009: Cinryze, Berinert, ecallantide (Kalbitor), icatibant (Firazyr) and Ruconest.[42][43] Stanozolol is still used long-term to reduce the frequency of severity of attacks.[48]
Society and culture
Generic names
Stanozolol is the generic name of stanozolol in English, German, French, and Japanese and its INNTooltip International Nonproprietary Name, USANTooltip United States Adopted Name, USPTooltip United States Pharmacopeia, BANTooltip British Approved Name, DCFTooltip Dénomination Commune Française, and JANTooltip Japanese Accepted Name, while stanozololum is its name in Latin, stanozololo is its name in Italian and its DCITTooltip Denominazione Comune Italiana, and estanozolol is its name in Spanish.[7][49][1]Androstanazole, androstanazol, stanazol, stanazolol, and estanazolol are unofficial synonyms of stanozolol.[7][1] It is also known by its former developmental code name WIN-14833.[7][1][49]
Brand names
Brand names under which stanozolol is or has been marketed include Anaysynth, Menabol, Neurabol Caps., Stanabolic (veterinary), Stanazol (veterinary), Stanol, Stanozolol, Stanztab, Stargate (veterinary), Stromba, Strombaject, Sungate (veterinary), Tevabolin, Winstrol, Winstrol Depot, and Winstrol-V (veterinary).[7][1]
^ abcThieme D, Hemmersbach P (18 December 2009). Doping in Sports. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 166–. ISBN978-3-540-79088-4. The oral form is marketed for human use whereas an aqueous suspension for injection is used in the veterinary field.
^ abMaini AA, Maxwell-Scott H, Marks DJ (February 2014). "Severe alkalosis and hypokalemia with stanozolol misuse". The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 32 (2): 196.e3–4. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2013.09.027. PMID24521609. This case is important as stanozolol misuse is relatively common, due to its high oral bioavailability and perceived safety profile compared with other parenteral AAS.
^McMullin GM, Watkin GT, Coleridge Smith PD, Scurr JH (April 1991). "Efficacy of fibrinolytic enhancement with stanozolol in the treatment of venous insufficiency". The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery. 61 (4): 306–9. doi:10.1111/j.1445-2197.1991.tb00217.x. PMID2018441.
^Tingus SJ, Carlsen RC (April 1993). "Effect of continuous infusion of an anabolic steroid on murine skeletal muscle". Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 25 (4): 485–94. PMID8479303.
^Bilezikian JP, Raisz LG, Rodan GA (19 January 2002). Principles of Bone Biology, Two-Volume Set. Academic Press. pp. 1455–. ISBN978-0-08-053960-7. Androgenic compounds rendered resistant to gastrointestinal and liver metabolism by containing an alkyl group at the C17α position, such as stanozolol, are orally active.
^Herron A, Brennan TK (18 March 2015). The ASAM Essentials of Addiction Medicine. Wolters Kluwer Health. pp. 262–. ISBN978-1-4963-1067-5. Testosterone has low oral bioavailability with only about half of an oral dose available after hepatic first-pass metabolism. Some analogues of testosterone (e.g., methyltestosterone, fluoxymesterone, oxandrolone, and stanozolol) resist such metabolism, so they can be given orally in smaller doses.
^Saartok T, Dahlberg E, Gustafsson JA (June 1984). "Relative binding affinity of anabolic-androgenic steroids: comparison of the binding to the androgen receptors in skeletal muscle and in prostate, as well as to sex hormone-binding globulin". Endocrinology. 114 (6): 2100–6. doi:10.1210/endo-114-6-2100. PMID6539197.
^Mateus-Avois L, Mangin P, Saugy M (February 2005). "Use of ion trap gas chromatography-multiple mass spectrometry for the detection and confirmation of 3'hydroxystanozolol at trace levels in urine for doping control". Journal of Chromatography. B, Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences. 816 (1–2): 193–201. doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2004.11.033. PMID15664350.
^Pozo OJ, Van Eenoo P, Deventer K, Lootens L, Grimalt S, Sancho JV, et al. (October 2009). "Detection and structural investigation of metabolites of stanozolol in human urine by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry". Steroids. 74 (10–11): 837–52. doi:10.1016/j.steroids.2009.05.004. PMID19464304. S2CID36617387.
^Baselt R (2008). Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man (8th ed.). Foster City, CA: Biomedical Publications. pp. 1442–3.
^ abcFood and Drug Administration Notice. Docket No 80N-0276; DESI 7630. Winstrol Tablets; Drugs for Human Use; Drug Efficacy Study Implementation, Revocation of Exemption; Followup Notice and Opportunity for Hearing on Proposal to Withdraw Approval of New Drug Federal Register, April 23, 1984. page 17094-99
^Food and Drug Administration Notice. Docket No 80N-0276; Drugs for Human Use; Drug Efficacy Study Implementation; Conditions for Continued Marketing of Anabolic Steroids for Treatment Federal Register Vol 45 No. 213. October 31 1980. pages 72291-93
^Karch SB (2007). Pathology, Toxicogenetics, and Criminalistics of Drug Abuse. CRC Press. ISBN978-1-4200-5456-9.
^Shänzer W (2004). "Abuse of Androgens and Detection of Illiegal Use Chapter 24". In Nieschlag E, Behr HM (eds.). Testosterone: Action, Deficiency, Substitution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1-139-45221-2.
^Helfman T, Falanga V (August 1995). "Stanozolol as a novel therapeutic agent in dermatology". Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 33 (2 Pt 1): 254–8. doi:10.1016/0190-9622(95)90244-9. PMID7622653.