methenolone and Hemiplegia

The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of administration of an anabolic steroid (AS) without the addition of specific training in stroke patients by measuring the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the thigh.. Twenty-six hemiplegic stroke patients during subacute rehabilitation were randomly assigned to a metenolone enanthate (ME) administration group or a control group (CT group). In the ME group, ME (100 mg) was injected intramuscularly weekly for 6 wks in the ME group. The CSA of the bilateral thigh muscles was measured using computed tomography. Motor subscore of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM-M) was assessed before the experimental period.. At the end of 6 wks, the CSA increase in the ME group (13.4%, affected side; 14.5%, unaffected side) was significantly larger than that in the CT group (3.3%, affected side; 5.2%, unaffected side). Correlation coefficients between the initial FIM-M score and the CSA increase at 6 wks were -0.754 for the affected side and -0.567 for the unaffected side in the ME group and 0.199 for the affected side and 0.431 for the unaffected side in the CT group.. ME administration is effective for improving muscle CSA and, thus, muscle strengthening in stroke rehabilitation. The CSA increase in the ME group was most prominent in patients with a low initial FIM-M score.

Topics: Aged; Anabolic Agents; Anatomy, Cross-Sectional; Disability Evaluation; Female; Hemiplegia; Humans; Injections, Intramuscular; Male; Methenolone; Muscle Strength; Muscle, Skeletal; Stroke Rehabilitation; Thigh; Tomography, X-Ray Computed