Therapeutic approach with anabolic steroids in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Their role in improving patients’ quality of life

Davi M Vidal, Lucas ANS Fonseca, Pedro C Morato Filho and Artur Laizo*

Introduction: Aging can be defined like a progressive and irreversible natural process. Chronic smoking shows the health care absence, 47% male smoking and 12% female smoking. Cigarette contains more than 4000 substances, in which 50 can develop neoplasm and many varied comorbidities like pituitary, thyroid, adrenal and gonadotrophic mismatch. It also affects calcium metabolism, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, skeletal striated musculature dysfunction, muscle mass loss - mainly thighs and arms - and exercise capacity reduction with fatigue complaint and dyspnea at minimal effort. 

Objective: Search endorsement to hormonal therapy in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients older than 55 years and treatment parameters, such as drugs and dosage, using ergogenic resources. 

Methodology: Bibliographic review in the data basis, such as SciElo and PubMed, with scientific articles in English, Portuguese and Spanish from the last 10 years. 

Discussion: COPD is characterized by a pulmonary disease with many systemic dysfunctions and can be associated with hypogonadism. The skeletal striated musculature dysfunction, muscle mass loss, mainly thighs and arms and exercise capacity reduction with fatigue complaint and dyspnea at minimal effort can be minimized by hormonal replacement therapy use. Pharmacological treatment of COPD with new ergogenic therapies are being studied with the objective of increasing exercise tolerance, decreasing fatigue and increasing protein synthesis. However, Anabolic Steroids (AS) therapy has adverse effects like a gynecomastia, polycythemia, suppression of sperm production and others. The main objectives of testosterone treatment are increasing energy, physical capacity, sexual life, memory and concentration and improve life quality. 

Conclusion: The use of AS in patient with moderate and severe COPD may bring benefits with respect to muscle and strength gain, and improvement in quality of life.

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Published on: Apr 22, 2020 Pages: 7-11

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/aprc.000041
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