ARE MUSCLE ENHANCERS FAIR GAME?

While one chases immortality in packed American stadiums, the other
throws stones in Switzerland.

Mark McGwire, the St. Louis Cardinal who is pursuing baseball's
home-run record, and Randy Barnes, an Olympic champion shot-putter,
apparently have used the same substance to help their athletic
performance. But while McGwire goes for the glory, Barnes is reduced
to a Swiss stone-throwing contest as he faces a possible lifetime ban
from international track-and-field competition.

Welcome to the world of androstenedione.

"Andro," as it's known by those who use it, is a hormone found in
animals, plants such as pine pollen, and the adrenal glands and gonads
of humans. It is legal if you are McGwire or any Major League
Baseball, National Basketball Association or National Hockey League
player. It is illegal if you are Barnes or any Olympian, collegiate
athlete or National Football League player.

Such is the quandary facing drug experts, sports officials and
athletes as they debate the merits of androstenedione (pronounced
andro-STEEN-die-own), the latest fad in the multimillion-dollar
sports-nutrition business.

Androstenedione is controversial because the body converts it into the
male sex hormone testosterone through enzymes in the liver. Elevated
testosterone levels enable athletes to train longer and potentially
build lean muscle mass. It also can increase sexual arousal and function.

Although the substance has been produced synthetically since the
1930s, no one has produced solid scientific data on its safety.

Some officials say they have enough evidence to restrict its use. The
International Olympic Committee, National Collegiate Athletic
Association and NFL ban androstenedione because their medical
experts consider the substance to be an anabolic steroid.

An anabolic steroid is a derivative of testosterone and makes the
bodies of men and women more masculine. It also comes with potential
side effects such as liver damage, heart disease, cancer and
aggressive behavior.

Don Catlin, director of the Olympic-accredited UCLA drug-testing
laboratory, said the molecular structure of androstenedione so closely
resembles testosterone that it is difficult to tell them apart.

"It's powerful," Catlin said. "Not as powerful as testosterone, but
that's a matter of dose."

But Scott Connelly, founder and chairman of Met-Rx, a California
sports-nutrition company that markets androstenedione, counters: "They
are a different universe of activity, effect and toxicity" from
anabolic steroids.

On this much, experts agree: Adolescents and children should not
ingest the agent because little is known about its effect on
teenagers' delicate hormonal balance.

Although it cannot be purchased in Canada without a permit and is
restricted in some European countries, the substance is legally sold
in the United States as a dietary supplement. It costs about $50 for
100 tablets of 100 milligrams.

GNC, a national chain of nutrition outlets, no longer sells the
product because of the scarcity of data about its safety, a
spokeswoman said.

But after last Friday's disclosure that McGwire has used
androstenedione for more than a year, sales increased dramatically at
Seattle stores that sell it.

As long as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies the
substance as a food supplement, it will continue to be sold without
restriction. FDA officials say they have no reason to consider
changing the status because no problems with it have been reported to
them.

That doesn't placate Terry Todd, University of Texas kinesiology
professor and one-time champion weight-lifter: "It is a bit of a
stretch to consider an anabolic steroid as a food substance.
Androstenedione really fits in the camp of anabolic steroids: It
stimulates the body to produce more testosterone."

Because of the growing controversy, baseball leaders this week called
for scrutiny of the supplement. But some question the sport's sincerity.

Although baseball bans anabolic steroids, it does not rigorously test
for the drug as other sports do. Chuck Yesalis, a Penn State
University professor and co-author of the book "The Steroids Game,"
said baseball might be forced to change its testing regimen.

"The only reason elite sports drug-test is public relations," he said.
"They are concerned about their business and image. This could drive
them to it."

Baseball has generally been spared drug scandals involving
performance-enhancing agents.

"Baseball doesn't have this history of steroid use," said a National
League team administrator who asked not to be identified. "The
perception is it is not a problem. Maybe it is a bigger issue than we
think, and it probably is."

Yesalis thinks so: "We're focusing on a leaf where there is a forest
fire," he said. "Three to eight guys on a roster are taking anabolic
steroids. Baseball doesn't even go through the motions of drug
testing. They're all flustered over androstenedione when HGH is out
there."

HGH, or human-growth hormone, promotes growth for children who suffer
from dwarfism. It also is a long-time favorite of elite lifters,
football players and other power athletes, and is legal only by
prescription.

The controversy over "andro" comes in a summer of drug scandals. The
Tour de France was tarnished when French police arrested members of
the world's best cycling team for possessing an illegal drug that
produces oxygen-rich red blood cells.

The use of supplements has long played a role in athletics,
particularly after drug-testing was introduced at the 1972 Olympics in
Munich, Germany. Athletes strive to find something to give them an
edge - even a psychological one - without being sanctioned.

At this summer's World Cup soccer championship, U.S. captain Thomas
Dooley considered injecting calves' blood into his muscles, a practice
he credited with having an almost miraculous healing effect on a
variety of muscular injuries.

McGwire, who is seven home runs away from Roger Maris' 37-year-old
record of 61, says androstenedione helps keep him injury-free. He also
acknowledges using creatine, an amino acid that promotes muscle mass
and is reportedly being taken by thousands of high-school, college and
professional athletes.

Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez is included in that group. "I can feel
the strength from creatine, but it makes me feel bloated," he said.

Mariner trainer Rick Griffin said he doesn't know of any Seattle
players using androstenedione. M's first baseman David Segui said he
doesn't use it but has tried just about everything else found in
nutrition stores. "None of it works," he concluded.

Athletes such as Segui might try a variety of legally sold products
for a variety of reasons, including chromium picolinate, ephedra,
guarana, willow bark, bladderwrack, gotu kola, Siberian ginseng,
astragalus, licorice root, ginger root, bee pollen, rehmannia root,
reishi mushroom ma-huang, cola nut, ginkgo biloba, saw palmetto, cola
nut extract, beet and boron proteinate.

Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs, who is chasing McGwire with 52 home
runs, said he doesn't use androstenedione or other testosterone
boosters. But Sosa does take creatine after games and ginseng before
he plays. The M's Ken Griffey Jr., the American League home-run leader
at 44, also said he doesn't use andro.

Still, McGwire insists many ballplayers do use it.

"In his sport, it is legal - end of question," said McGwire's agent,
Bob Cohen. "Let's play baseball."

Baseball leaders would like nothing better. But the growing debate has
forced officials in and out of the sport to focus on the supplement.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency has decided to re-examine
androstenedione to determine if it should be classified as a Schedule
3 drug with anabolic steroids. Schedule 3 drugs are illegal to possess
without prescription.

A DEA official who asked not to be identified said the agency is
struggling with the same issues as the sports-medicine community.

"We've not been able to find any credible scientific evidence," the
agent said. "We have all kinds of anecdotal reports but haven't found
anything to support" the definition of an anabolic steroid.

While officials await more information, other, more efficient
supplements are being developed all the time, said Victor Uralets, a
Russian drug expert.

If so, the debate is likely to continue long after McGwire's home-run
pursuit ends.

Seattle Times staff reporter Bob Finnigan contributed to this
report.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan