Former steroid users may still have an advantage YEARS after stopping steroid usage 👀

A new study (PMID: 37466198) assessed myonuclei density in muscles of non-users, former users, & current steroid users Muscle cells are the only multi-nucleated cells. It’s believed the more myonuclei they contain, the greater the overall potential for muscle growth. It is also believed that once myonuclei fuse, it may take a very long time for them to unfuse (PMID: 36629254)

This may partially explain the ‘muscle memory’ effect whereby people can regain muscle faster after a period of retraining compared to when they first started training. This may mean that fused myonuclei may confer long term benefits It is known that steroids can increased myonuclei fusion (PMID: 25207812). But a new study aimed to examine if these myonuclei persist even after ceasing anabolic steroid usage

As such researchers in the current study recruited never users, former steroid users, & current steroid users & assessed their myonuclei density. The researchers found that both users and former users had significantly greater myonuclei than never users & were not significantly different than each other. This in spite of the fact that the average last usage of steroids was over 4 years ago in former users. This means that anabolic steroids likely confer long term benefits long after their use. Further study in mice treated with steroids had them train to increase muscle & then ceased steroids use to detrain until their muscle returned to baseline size. The mice were then retrained & compared to a control group that never took anabolic steroids. Former users regained muscle faster than never users (PMID: 24167222)

This means it’s likely that steroid usage confers long term benefits even after cession. This has implications for how we drug test & what period of ‘drug free’ should be required for tested competition. This also has implications for trans athletes in sports as it suggests long term exposure to increased testosterone levels may not be able to be ‘undone.’ If you love these research breakdowns make sure to subscribe to my research review, REPS 👊

Agree. Advantage in some ways, disadvantage in other ways (depending on how they used/abused it).

This is widely known to be true and that's why USADA and drug testing doesn't work. This is why Jon Jones is NOT the GOAT. Nor is anyone who used PEDs or steroids. Tarnished.

Yeah, I've always thought 1 failed drug test should be a DQ for life. Cheaters should never be allowed to compete.

This makes sense.

This should be common sense, I read about that years ago.

You are an idiot Layne