TUESDAY, May 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is once more warning consumers to avoid muscle-building “supplements” which can be anything but a secure alternative to steroids.
In an advisory sent out last week, the agency said it continues to receive reports of significant uncomfortable side effects linked to selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). The compounds mimic a number of the effects of testosterone, and have long been under study for treating muscle-wasting and bone loss brought on by certain medical conditions.
None have been approved by the FDA, nevertheless, and the agency stresses that SARMs are drugs, not dietary supplements.
Still, online corporations are marketing SARM-containing products, with the assistance of social media.
“Online vendors and social media influencers are using social media to make SARMs seem secure and effective,” the FDA said in its warning.
Based on the reports the agency is receiving, that is much from the case: SARM-containing products are linked to sometimes life-threatening effects akin to heart attacks, strokes and liver failure. Other uncomfortable side effects include testicular shrinkage, sexual dysfunction, fertility problems and even psychosis.
The FDA has been warning consumers concerning the risks for years, and brought motion against some corporations that illegally market the products.
But, experts said, because persons are getting SARMs online from overseas corporations, the issue is difficult to tackle from the availability side.
And from the patron side, it could be just as tough.
Contrary to popular belief, the standard SARM user isn’t a high-level athlete attempting to “cheat,” said Dr. Shalender Bhasin, director of the Research Program in Men’s Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Most individuals using SARMs are young men who want to boost their appearance.”
And that, based on Bhasin, points to a broader, little-recognized issue: rising rates of body-image disorders amongst teenage boys and young men.
Bhasin said that compared with many years ago, the “idealized male body” lately is improbably lean and muscled — one other message amplified by social media.
“These young men are attempting to mimic what isn’t realistic — something you possibly can’t achieve by going to the gym a number of times per week,” Bhasin said.
“I worry about young people getting these messages,” he added.
Dr. Richard Auchus, an endocrinologist and professor on the University of Michigan, agreed that in light of all of that, it could be hard to dissuade SARM users.
But there are many reasons to avoid the products, Auchus said.
“There are the risks of the SARMs themselves,” he said. “And there are the risks of using any product not regulated by the FDA.”
It’s known, Auchus noted, that unregulated products sold as supplements often don’t contain what’s on the label — and, more concerning from a health standpoint, can have substances that aren’t disclosed.
In actual fact, Bhasin found that to be true of SARMs in a 2017 study published within the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In that study, Bhasin and his colleagues analyzed 44 SARM products they bought online, and located that only about half actually contained the drugs. Then again, 39% contained other unapproved drugs, akin to steroids or growth hormones.
Auchus said it’s best to avoid any online product purporting to be a muscle-builder. Even when the ingredients are accurately listed on the label, he said, a consumer would have a tough time knowing whether a product accommodates SARMs (or other unapproved substances): They go by names like ostarine, andarine and testolone.
Bhasin pointed to a different risk of SARM use: It may possibly result in abuse of other substances, starting from steroids for more muscle-building to “benzos” to take care of the side effect of sleep disturbances.
So the difficulty, for a lot of SARM users, is one in every of mental health and dependence on substances, based on Bhasin. Simply telling them to stop, he said, is akin to telling someone with anorexia to “just eat.”
“Within the press, this is commonly portrayed as a difficulty of cheating in sports,” Bhasin said. “But this is de facto a public health challenge.”
More information
Uniformed Services University has more on the risks of SARMs.
SOURCES: Richard Auchus, MD, PhD, professor, internal medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, chief, endocrinology and metabolism section, Ann Arbor VA Medical Center, Ann Arbor; Shalender Bhasin, MD, director, Research Program in Men’s Health: Aging and Metabolism, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, professor, medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, news release, April 26, 2023