Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2013; 121 - P64
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1336742

Endocrine fingerprint analyses as an alternative strategy to detect the abuse of anabolic steroids

J Hengevoß 1, S Rojas 2, M Piechotta 3, MK Parr 4, P Diel 1
  • 1German Sport University Cologne, Department of Cellular and Molecular Sports Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sports Medicine; Center of preventive doping research, Cologne, Germany
  • 2German Sport University Cologne, Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, Cologne, Germany
  • 3University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Clinic for Cattle, Hannover, Germany
  • 4Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Pharmacy, Berlin, Germany

In doping analysis anabolic substances are usually detected by GCMS and LCMS. However, even substances with a chemical structure typical for this class of substances are sometimes not identified when their exact chemical structure is unknown. Therefore, indirect detection techniques may help to complement the classic detection methods in the future. For this purpose the effects of anabolic steroid abuse on the serum concentrations of different hormones were analyzed.

Blood and urine samples from a group of male bodybuilders (n = 10) and a male control group (n = 6, 29.7 ± 9.35 years, 81.92 ± 4.18 kg bw, 183 ± 5 cm height) were collected for this study. The urine samples were subsequently analyzed for metabolites of anabolic steroids by the Institute of Biochemistry, German Sport University Cologne. The positively tested bodybuilders were allocated in the group abusing bodybuilders (ABB, n = 5, 24.2 ± 6.3 years, 102 ± 13.77 kg bw, 184 ± 7 cm height) and the negatively tested in the group natural bodybuilders (NB, n = 5, 34.4 ± 14.57 years, 94.5 ± 10.47 kg bw, 182 ± 7 cm height). The serum concentration of cortisol, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) in comparison to inhibin, thyroxin (T4), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) was measured by ELISA or RIA.

In the ABB T4 and prolactin serum conc. were significantly reduced and the LH conc. significantly enhanced compared to the control group. The TSH serum conc. was significantly reduced in the ABB and NB group compared to the control group. For inhibin a significantly reduced serum conc. in ABB compared to the control group and a tendency toward a difference compared to NB could be observed.

The results of this pilot study demonstrate that the comparative analysis of serum concentrations may be suitable to detect doping abuse: TSH as a marker for physical activity; LH, prolactin and inhibin as potential markers for steroid abuse.