MCGWIRE SETS OFF A SALES BOOM

Legal hormone used by Cardinals' basher has unproven value, possible risks,
experts warn

Amateur athletes and bodybuilders are responding to the disclosure that St.
Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire uses androstenedione by boosting sales
at health food stores -- when they can find it.

``We've been selling a lot. We can't keep it on the shelves,'' said Jamie
Laubacher of Great Earth Vitamin Store at the Oakridge Mall in San Jose.
``I sold 20 boxes in two days -- and would have sold more, if I had it.''

But so far, the only people it's proven to help are the ones who sell it.
Medical experts say no studies have been done to validate claims for the
legal steroid hormone -- and warn that long-term use could be dangerous.

Wary of possible harm, some stores like health-product giant General
Nutrition Centers have resisted the temptation to carry it.

``We took a close look at the product and determined that the current level
of research, we were not comfortable with it,'' according to Greg Miller, a
representative of the 3,700-store Pennsylvania-based chain.

Sold over the counter at $30 to $50 a box under names such as ``EAS
Andro-Blend'' and ``AST Andro-Plex 700,'' androstenedione is unregulated by
government authorities. It is purported to provide a natural and legal way
to build muscles and boost sex drive by raising levels of testosterone, the
male sex hormone.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 250-pound McGwire, who is in the spotlight as he chases
baseball's single-season home run record, acknowledged Sunday that he
regularly takes androstenedione (pronounced an-dro-STEEN-di-own).

Because of growing concerns over players' health, baseball commissioner Bud
Selig and players association executive director Donald Fehr have decided
to take a closer look at Major League Baseball's own policy, which allows
use of the substance.

The two called Tuesday for the joint medical representatives of the league
and the union ``to gather the relevant scientific and medical data and to
consult with other experts on the general use of nutritional supplements by
major league players.''

That could be a challenge.

Good medical data doesn't exist, said Dr. Gary Wadler, associate professor
of clinical medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and 1993
recipient of the International Olympic Committee's President's Prize.

``I've looked for research but come up short. What's out there are just
claims made by those with a vested interest in the product,'' said Wadler,
the author of ``Drugs and the Athlete'' -- the bible on
performance-enhancing drugs.

Both men and women produce androstenedione in their adrenal glands, which
sit atop the kidneys. In men, it is converted to testosterone, which floods
their bodies during early adulthood and dwindles as they age.

Studies of the hormone have been done in animals -- one of the most
credible in a small bird called the zebra finch. Researchers found that the
hormone caused female finches to abandon their delicate songs and start
singing like males.

But there have no controlled, peer-reviewed and published studies in
humans. The only available data is found in the product's East German
patent application, which claims that androstenedione almost doubled normal
testosterone levels.

But anything can be written in a patent filing without documentation, said
exercise physiologist David M. Lightsey of Bakersfield, who heads the
Ergonomic Task Force of the National Council for Reliable Health
Information, a group of medical professionals who monitor allegations of
health fraud.

Nor has the 25-year-old East German data been duplicated by other
researchers, he noted.

Even without the research, androstenedione can be sold over the counter
under terms of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994,
which permits the sale of hormones such as androstenedione and creatine,
another purported performance enhancer taken by McGwire, as long as the
substances do not make therapeutic claims. The act essentially removed the
products from oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

``We cannot disallow it,'' an FDA official said of androstenedione. ``We
don't review the product before it is put on the market. . . . The
responsibility is put on the manufacturer to ensure it is safe and labeled
properly. We take action if there are reports of illness or injuries or
complaints by the public.''

Despite the lack of federal restrictions, scientists familiar with the
hormone caution against its use in healthy people.

Androstenedione should be taken only under a doctor's supervision by men
who do not produce their own testosterone, said Peter Hornsby, associate
professor of cell biology at Baylor College of Medicine, who studies the
body's hormone-making cells.

``It is extremely dangerous . . . because a normal male doesn't need any
more testosterone. If you are a male without it, see a doctor. If you're a
female, don't take it because it will have a masculinizing effect,'' said
Hornsby.

Doctors worry that increased levels of testosterone could cause an
otherwise dormant prostate tumor to grow, or could cause prostate
enlargement. Other complications could include breast enlargement,
personality change and liver or heart problems.

Trying to isolate male hormones in the 1950s, scientists first obtained
androstenedione by distilling 25,000 liters of male police officers' urine.
Synthesis quickly followed, enabling production of larger quantities.

Androstenedione was routinely used in nasal-spray form by East German
scientists in the mid-1960s and 1970s to boost testosterone levels in both
male and female athletes, according to the online magazine Muscle Media 2000.

Androstenedione was rediscovered about a year ago when the owner of a
supplement company stumbled onto the German patent and realized it would be
a legal over-the-counter product.

Those who back the product say there's little need for regulation because
it is ``natural,'' converting to testosterone in the body.

``I think its more B.S. to write about,'' said Oakland A's first baseman
Jason Giambi, who also uses androstenedione. ``The stuff is not illegal.
It's not an anabolic steroid. . . . It's kind of sad that someone is trying
to mar someone else's (McGwire's) accomplishments.''

According to A's head trainer Larry Davis: ``If they (the players) are
going to use it, they're going to use it. It's best that we know about it.
We don't disallow you from bringing it into the clubhouse, because it's
over the counter. . . . We don't supply it, we don't endorse it, but we
don't ban it.''

But testimonials by sports heroes like McGwuire could be persuasive to
youths, who may be most at risk, said physiologist Lightsey.

``It sets a terrible example to the kids on the block. Athletes are naive.
They aren't out to scam anybody. But they don't have a formal scientific
background and buy it all, hook, line and sinker,'' said Lightsey.

Mercury News Staff Writer Howard Bryant contributed to this report.

1997 - 1998 Mercury Center.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan