January - March 2013, Volume 9, Issue 1

Rosca A, Badiu C., Uscatescu V., Mirica R., Bragam R., Pavel B., Zagrean L

Effect of chronic administration of anabolic androgenic steroids and taurine on platelet aggregation in rats

Acta Endo (Buc) 2013, 9 (1): 33-38
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2013.33

Background. The pro-thrombotic potential of the anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), worldwide misused substances, has increasingly become a subject of current interest. Conversely, taurine, a sulfur-amino acid ubiquitous in human body, in addition to other beneficial effects, is thought to have an inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation. Purpose. To assess platelet aggregation both taurine and high doses of AAS were simultaneously chronically administered in rats. Methods. The experiment was conducted on 40 male Wistar rats, divided into 4 equal groups: control (C) – no treatment; AAS (A) – treated with 10 mg/kg/week of nandrolone decanoate (DECA); taurine (T) – daily treated with oral supplementation of 2% taurine in drinking water; androgen and taurine group (AT) – concomitant administration of DECA and taurine. After 12 weeks of treatment, blood samples were collected and platelet aggregation induced by ADP was performed using the turbidimetric method. Results. The platelet aggregation magnitude was significantly higher (p<0.001) in group A (62.1±6.10%) than in group C (47.8±5.39%), while in group T (40.3±6.49%) it was significantly lower (p=0.04). Moreover, the platelet aggregation response was significantly lower in group AT (54.5±6.38%) than in group A (p=0.04), without a significant difference between group AT and group C (p=0.08). Conclusion. Our findings provide additional evidence regarding harmful potential of high doses of DECA, chronically administered. The increased platelet aggregation induced by AAS may be decreased by diet supplementation with taurine.

Keywords: anabolic androgenic steroids, taurine, platelets, aggregation, rat.

Correspondence: Corin Badiu MD, PhD, National Institute of Endocrinology, Thyroid Related Disorders, Aviatorilor 34-36, Bucharest, 011863, Romania, E-mail: badicrin@yahoo.co.uk