Androgens as anabolic agents for bone.
Androgens are classically considered anabolic agents, and in fact there is abundant evidence in many tissues that corroborates strong positive effects of androgens on proliferation and growth. In bone as well, there is clear evidence that androgen action is associated with an increase in skeletal mass, particularly during growth. Whether androgens can be considered anabolic in the skeleton later in life (when therapeutic increases in bone mass are of most clinical interest) is still a matter of some debate.
Orwoll
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Bone and Mineral Research Unit, Portland VA Medical Center, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR 97207, USA.