Methyltestosterone was discovered in 1935 and was introduced for medical use in 1936.[6][17][18][19][4] It was made shortly after the discovery of testosterone and was one of the first synthetic AAS to be developed.[6][17][18] In addition to its medical use, methyltestosterone is used to improve physique and performance, although it is not as commonly used as other AAS for such purposes due to its androgenic effects, estrogenic effects, and risk of liver damage.[4] The drug is a controlled substance in many countries and so non-medical use is generally illicit.[4]
Methyltestosterone is less effective in inducing masculinization than testosterone, but is useful for maintaining established masculinization in adults.[20]
The dosages of methyltestosterone used are 10 to 50 mg/day in men for common medical uses like hypogonadism and delayed puberty as well as physique- and performance-enhancing purposes and 2.5 mg/day in women for menopausal symptoms.[4] Higher dosages of 50 to 200 mg/day have been used to treat women with inoperable breast cancer that has failed to respond to other therapies, although such dosages are associated with severe irreversible virilization.[4]
Notes: Men produce about 3 to 11 mg of testosterone per day (mean 7 mg/day in young men). Footnotes:a = Never marketed. b = No longer used and/or no longer marketed. Sources: See template.
Notes:Premenopausal women produce about 230 ± 70 μg testosterone per day (6.4 ± 2.0 mg testosterone per 4 weeks), with a range of 130 to 330 μg per day (3.6–9.2 mg per 4 weeks). Footnotes:a = Mostly discontinued or unavailable. b = Over-the-counter. Sources: See template.
Methyltestosterone should be used with caution in women and children, as it can cause irreversible virilization.[4] Due to its estrogenicity, methyltestosterone can also accelerate epiphyseal closure and thereby produce short stature in children and adolescents.[4] It can worsen symptoms in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.[4] Methyltestosterone should not be used in men with prostate cancer, as androgens can accelerate tumor progression.[4] The drug should be used with caution in patients with pre-existing hepatotoxicity, due to its own potential for hepatotoxicity.[4]
Due to its combined disadvantages of a relatively poor ratio of anabolic to androgenic activity, unusually high estrogenicity, and the potential for hepatotoxicity (as with other 17α-alkylated AAS), methyltestosterone has not been used as commonly as many other AAS either in medicine or for physique- or performance-enhancing purposes.[4]
Pharmacokinetics
Absorption
Methyltestosterone has dramatically improved oralbioavailability and metabolic stability relative to testosterone.[4][24] This difference is due to the C17α methyl group, which results in steric hindrance and prevents metabolism.[4][24] The oral bioavailability of methyltestosterone is about 70%, and it is well-absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract.[8] Methyltestosterone can also be taken buccally or sublingually.[4][8] Although effective orally, methyltestosterone is more effective by these non-oral routes, which are said to approximately double its bioavailability and require half the oral dosage.[4][8][21]
Circulating levels of methyltestosterone with administration of 1.25 to 2.5 mg/day oral methyltestosterone in women are in the range of 20 to 30 ng/dL.[28] For comparison to testosterone, methyltestosterone is at least as potent as an AAS.[28] However, due to the large decrease in sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels and hence increase in free unbound testosterone caused by methyltestosterone, androgenic effects may be greater than reflected merely by methyltestosterone levels.[28]
The biological half-life of methyltestosterone is approximately 3 hours (range 2.5–3.5 hours).[8][11] The duration of action of methyltestosterone is said to be 1 to 3 days, and is described as relatively short among AAS.[9][30]
Methyltestosterone, also known as 17α-methyltestosterone or as 17α-methylandrost-4-en-17β-ol-3-one, is a synthetic, 17α-alkylatedandrostanesteroid and a derivative of testosterone differing from it only in the presence of a methyl group at the C17α position.[1][2][4] Close synthetic relatives of methyltestosterone include metandienone (17α-methyl-δ1-testosterone) and fluoxymesterone (9α-fluoro-11β-hydroxy-17α-methyltestosterone).[4][24]
Methyltestosterone was first synthesized in 1935 along with methandriol and mestanolone.[33][34][6][17][18] It was the second synthetic AAS to be developed, following mesterolone (1α-methyl-DHT) in 1934, and was the first 17α-alkylated AAS to be synthesized.[6][17][18] The drug was introduced for medical use in 1936.[19][4]
Society and culture
Generic names
Methyltestosterone is the INNTooltip International Nonproprietary Name, USANTooltip United States Adopted Name, USPTooltip United States Pharmacopeia, BANTooltip British Approved Name, and JANTooltip Japanese Accepted Name of the drug and its generic name in English and Japanese, while méthyltestostérone is its DCFTooltip Dénomination Commune Française and French name and metiltestosterone is its DCITTooltip Denominazione Comune Italiana and Italian name.[1][2][35][3] The generic name of the drug is methyltestosterone in Latin, methyltestosteron in German, and metiltestosterona in Spanish.[1][2][3] Methyltestosterone is also known by its former developmental code name NSC-9701.[35][3]
Brand names
Brand names under which methyltestosterone is or has been marketed for medical use include Afro, Agovirin, Android, Androral, Mesteron, Metandren, Methitest, Methyltestosterone, Methyl Testosterone, Oraviron, Oreton, Oreton Methyl, Testormon, Testovis, Testred, and Virilon, among others.[1][2][3][36]
Methyltestosterone is available at a low-dose in combination with esterified estrogens for the treatment of menopausal symptoms like hot flashes in women under the brand names Covaryx, Essian, Estratest, Menogen, and Syntest.[4][37]
^ abcdShahidi NT (September 2001). "A review of the chemistry, biological action, and clinical applications of anabolic-androgenic steroids". Clinical Therapeutics. 23 (9): 1355–1390. doi:10.1016/s0149-2918(01)80114-4. PMID11589254.
^ abN.A.R.D. journal. National Association of Retail Druggists. July 1956.
^ abAmerican Medical Association. Division of Drugs, American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1983). "Androgens and Anabolic Steroids". AMA Drug Evaluations. American Medical Association. pp. 913–930. ISBN978-0-89970-160-8.
^Saartok T, Dahlberg E, Gustafsson JA (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.
Phillips EH, Ryan S, Ferrari R, Green C (2003). "Estratest and Estratest HS (esterified estrogens and methyltestosterone) therapy: a summary of safety surveillance data, January 1989 to August 2002". Clin Ther. 25 (12): 3027–43. doi:10.1016/s0149-2918(03)90090-7. PMID14749144.
Kabat GC, Kamensky V, Heo M, Bea JW, Hou L, Lane DS, Liu S, Qi L, Simon MS, Wactawski-Wende J, Rohan TE (2014). "Combined conjugated esterified estrogen plus methyltestosterone supplementation and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women". Maturitas. 79 (1): 70–6. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2014.06.006. PMID25011395.