Doping in sport-1. Excretion of 19-norandrosterone by healthy women, including those using contraceptives containing norethisterone

TY - JOUR

T1 - Doping in sport-1. Excretion of 19-norandrosterone by healthy women, including those using contraceptives containing norethisterone

AU - Walker, Christopher J.

AU - Cowan, David A.

AU - James, Vivian H. T.

AU - Lau, Joanne C. Y.

AU - Kicman, Andrew T.

PY - 2009/3

Y1 - 2009/3

N2 - 19-Norandrosterone (19-NA) is the principal urinary metabolite of the anabolic steroid nandrolone and its prohormones. The administration of these 19-nor androgens is prohibited in sport by the world Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) but, even so, adverse findings for 19-NA continue to be commonly reported. Little is known about the urinary concentrations of 19-NA that can occur in women who are not using anabolic steroids, including those using oral contraceptives containing the 19-nor progestogen norethisterone. In 2004, WADA lowered the reporting threshold for 19-NA for females from 5 to 2 ng/mL. The lack of any substantial data on 19-NA excretion in women prompted this large-scale investigation. In this investigation, single untimed urines collected from 1202 female volunteers, 38 of whom were taking norethisterone containing contraceptives, were analysed for 19-NA. None of the women was a competitive athlete and pregnancy had been excluded by a urinary test for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Only one sample exceeded the 19-NA reporting threshold having a concentration of 4.1 ng/mL. This sample was from a user of a norethisterone-containing contraceptive. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

AB - 19-Norandrosterone (19-NA) is the principal urinary metabolite of the anabolic steroid nandrolone and its prohormones. The administration of these 19-nor androgens is prohibited in sport by the world Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) but, even so, adverse findings for 19-NA continue to be commonly reported. Little is known about the urinary concentrations of 19-NA that can occur in women who are not using anabolic steroids, including those using oral contraceptives containing the 19-nor progestogen norethisterone. In 2004, WADA lowered the reporting threshold for 19-NA for females from 5 to 2 ng/mL. The lack of any substantial data on 19-NA excretion in women prompted this large-scale investigation. In this investigation, single untimed urines collected from 1202 female volunteers, 38 of whom were taking norethisterone containing contraceptives, were analysed for 19-NA. None of the women was a competitive athlete and pregnancy had been excluded by a urinary test for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Only one sample exceeded the 19-NA reporting threshold having a concentration of 4.1 ng/mL. This sample was from a user of a norethisterone-containing contraceptive. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

U2 - 10.1016/j.steroids.2008.10.008

DO - 10.1016/j.steroids.2008.10.008

M3 - Article

VL - 74

SP - 329

EP - 334

JO - Steroids

JF - Steroids

IS - 3

ER -