title: Impact of chronic administration of anabolic androgenic steroids and taurine on blood pressure in rats.
abstract: Supraphysiological administration of anabolic androgenic steroids has been linked to increased blood pressure. The widely distributed amino acid taurine seems to be an effective depressor agent in drug-induced hypertension. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of chronic high dose administration of nandrolone decanoate (DECA) and taurine on blood pressure in rats and to verify the potentially involved mechanisms. The study was conducted in 4 groups of 8 adult male Wistar rats, aged 14 weeks, treated for 12 weeks with: DECA (A group); vehicle (C group); taurine (T group), or with both drugs (AT group). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured at the beginning of the study (SBP1), 2 (SBP2) and 3 months (SBP3) later. Plasma angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity and plasma end products of nitric oxide metabolism (NOx) were also determined. SBP3 and SBP2 were significantly increased compared to SBP1 only in the A group (P<0.002 for both). SBP2, SBP3 and ACE activity showed a statistically significant increase in the A vs C (P<0.005), andvs AT groups (P<0.05), while NOx was significantly decreased in the A and AT groups vs controls (P=0.01). ACE activity was strongly correlated with SBP3 in the A group (r=0.71, P=0.04). These findings suggest that oral supplementation of taurine may prevent the increase in SBP induced by DECA, an effect potentially mediated by angiotensin-converting enzyme.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Roşca
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stoian
authors.affiliation: C.I. Parhon National Institute of Endocrinology, Department of Endocrinology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Badiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gaman
authors.affiliation: Colentina Clinical Hospital, Department of Neurology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: B O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Popescu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iosif
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mirica
authors.affiliation: R&D Irist Labmed, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Tivig
authors.affiliation: Department of Lipoproteins and Atherosclerosis, N. Simionescu Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Stancu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Căruntu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Voiculescu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zăgrean
mesh_terms: D045930:Anabolic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D009277:Nandrolone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000077603:Nandrolone Decanoate; D009566:Nitrates / Q000097:blood; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D009573:Nitrites / Q000097:blood; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000097:blood; D011897:Random Allocation; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012016:Reference Values; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods; D013654:Taurine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D045930:Anabolic Agents; D009566:Nitrates; D009573:Nitrites; D013654:Taurine; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D009277:Nandrolone; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; D000077603:Nandrolone Decanoate