The government is cracking down on the steroidlike supplement made famous by baseball’s Mark McGwire, telling companies Thursday to quit selling androstenedione unless they can prove it’s not dangerous.
Commonly called andro, the product is a steroid precursor–the body uses it to make testosterone.
That means it poses the same health risks as directly using an anabolic steroid, the Food and Drug Administration says in warnings telling 23 manufacturers to cease their production.
“Anyone who takes these products in sufficient quantities to build muscle or improve performance is putting himself or herself at risk for serious long-term and potentially irreversible health consequences,” FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan said.
The FDA’s newest crackdown comes as it is facing a legal challenge to its pending ban on another controversial dietary supplement, ephedra. That herbal stimulant, widely used for weight loss, is linked to 155 deaths and dozens more heart attacks and strokes.
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Compiled from RedEye news services and edited by Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com) and Michael Morgan (mnmorgan@tribune.com).
