AAS Effects on the liver

The effect of AAS on the liver is an issue that bodybuilder must consider when using it. Although the adverse effects of AAS on certain liver enzymes are significantly reduce over time after discontinuation of the drug. However, long-term, high dose use of AAS will inevitably affect liver health.

Long-term, high-dose use of AAS can lead to the accumulation of these drugs, or their metabolic production, in the liver, which increases the likelihood of liver diseases such as tumors and hepatitis.

AAS are a class of compounds derive from testosterone ,after developing it since the late 1930s, people use them to treat hypogonadism and severe burnout. Physiologically, AAS can increase skeletal muscle mass and protein synthesis, and improve muscle size, weight, and strength. These steroids affect cells by interacting with the central nucleus and causing biochemical changes, and because of their solubility in fat, disperse in the cell, bind to proteins, enter the nucleus and activate protein synthesis. Many Bodybuilders use AAS to improve performance.

AAS effect liver

High levels of AAS use are associate with adverse cardiovascular, renal, hormonal, reproductive, and psychiatric effects, with liver damage being the most common.

The liver is the largest gland in the body, and complications such as intrahepatic cholestasis, hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma are often associated with changes in liver function as well as increases in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and in some cases bilirubin. Long-term large use of AAS can lead to cholestasis and elevated liver enzymes, which can effect liver health.

The liver itself has a certain detoxification function. The liver detoxifies many different drugs through chemical changes or excretes them into the bile. As a result, steroid hormones that are not present in tissues are usually converte by the liver to androsterone and dihydroepiandrosterone, which are immediately bond or acidifie, and then excrete into the intestine via bile or into the urine via the kidneys.

The use of AAS can effect liver tissue to some extent, because the liver is the main site of steroid clearance and detoxification, so AAS affect the liver more than other organs. But its severity depends on a variety of factors, including the type of drug, duration of use and dosage. Therefore, bodybuilders need to pay attention to the dosage and cycle length of using AAS.