Summary: New research in adolescent female rodents suggests that use of anabolic steroids during adolescence can increase sensitivity to cocaine and may harm reproductive health, raising concerns about the risks of steroid use among teens.
Source: APS
Performance-enhancing steroid use could raise the risk of later cocaine use and addiction in adolescents and may impair fertility in young females, according to new rodent research presented at the American Physiological Society’s annual meeting.
Use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) to enhance athletic performance or body appearance remains a public health concern, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Beyond their muscle-building effects, these substances can alter mood, increase impulsive or risk-taking behavior, and interact with brain reward pathways. Epidemiological observations in humans have shown that young adults who use anabolic steroids are more likely to also use cocaine: approximately one-third of steroid users report cocaine use compared with roughly 5 percent of their peers who do not use steroids. However, the relationship between adolescent steroid exposure and later vulnerability to stimulant drugs has not been well characterized.
Researchers at the University of Puerto Rico investigated how adolescent exposure to nandrolone — one of the commonly used anabolic steroids — affects sensitivity to cocaine and reproductive function in female rats. Following a 10-day exposure period to nandrolone, the animals were allocated into four experimental groups to isolate the effects of the steroid, cocaine, and their combination:
- Group 1: nandrolone only
- Group 2: nandrolone plus cocaine
- Group 3: cocaine only
- Group 4: control (neither nandrolone nor cocaine)
The investigators measured behavioral responses to cocaine, focusing on locomotor sensitization — an increase in movement and activity in response to repeated stimulant exposure that is commonly used as an animal model of heightened drug reactivity and a marker of addiction vulnerability. The nandrolone-exposed groups showed a marked increase in cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization compared with groups that received cocaine alone or controls. In other words, adolescent androgen exposure amplified the psychoactive effects of cocaine in adulthood.
Alongside behavioral findings, the study identified adverse effects on the female reproductive system. Rats exposed to nandrolone during adolescence exhibited decreased ovary weight and the formation of ovarian cysts — structural changes that can compromise fertility. These reproductive impacts were observed in the nandrolone groups regardless of cocaine exposure, indicating that anabolic steroid use alone can be detrimental to reproductive health.
The authors conclude that androgen exposure during the adolescent developmental window appears to modify brain circuits involved in reward and addiction, thereby increasing the psychoactive and reinforcing properties of cocaine. While these data come from an animal model and should be interpreted with appropriate caution, the results suggest a plausible biological mechanism by which adolescent steroid use could elevate the risk of stimulant use disorder and harm reproductive function in females.
Source:
APS
Media Contacts:
Irinja Lounassalo – APS
Image Source:
The image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Carlos Rivero, a graduate student at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, presented the poster titled “Nandrolone use during adolescence increases cocaine sensitization and impairs reproductive function in adult female rats” at Experimental Biology 2019 in Orlando, Fla. The poster reported that adolescent nandrolone exposure heightened cocaine sensitization and produced ovarian changes that could impact fertility.
This rodent study underscores two important public health messages relevant to adolescents and young adults: first, anabolic steroid use during adolescence may increase vulnerability to stimulant drugs such as cocaine by altering brain reward systems; second, anabolic steroids can negatively affect female reproductive health. These findings support continued education and prevention efforts aimed at reducing nonmedical steroid use among teens and highlight the need for further research to determine how these animal-model observations translate to human risk.