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Stz4.2
Stanozolol (Winstrol) Research
Mostly mechanism / observationalLimited safety
7 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Mostly mechanism / observational
Most Stanozolol (Winstrol) studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.
Most evidence is from mixed-quality randomised trials published 1989–2017 with a typical study size of 44 participants.
Based on 7 studies · 2 RCTs · 55 total participants
Confidence
Low
By outcome
Hereditary angioedema
Mostly mechanism / observational3 studies
Liver & hepatotoxicity
Mostly mechanism / observational3 studies
Lean mass & anabolic effect
Mostly mechanism / observational3 studies
Safety profile
Mostly mechanism / observational3 studies
Cholesterol & the HDL crash
Too few graded studies2 studies
Older research base
Newest study from 2017
198920032017
1Systematic Review2015
Fifteen LOE 2 studies and multiple LOE 4 reports provided efficacy data, confirming a high level of prophylactic efficacy for androgen therapy in HAE ... Common adverse events include weight gain, menstrual irregularities, virilization ... and elevations in ... liver function test results, and serum lipid level.
Riedl MA · Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology (2015)
Top-of-pyramid synthesis for the approved indication: a systematic review of androgen use (danazol, stanozolol) in hereditary angioedema, grading the literature by level of evidence
Fifteen level-2 studies plus multiple case series confirmed a high level of prophylactic efficacy — the evidentiary basis for attenuated androgens in HAE
Catalogued the harms in the same population: virilization, weight gain, menstrual irregularity, and elevations in liver-function tests and serum lipids
Stanozolol reduced HDL-cholesterol and the HDL2 subfraction by 33% and 71%, respectively. ... Apolipoprotein A-I level decreased 40% during stanozolol ... The low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration increased 29% with stanozolol.
The headline counter-evidence on lipids: a randomized crossover trial in 11 male weight-lifters comparing oral stanozolol 6 mg/day with supraphysiological intramuscular testosterone enanthate over six weeks
Oral stanozolol cut HDL cholesterol by 33%, the cardioprotective HDL2 subfraction by 71% and apolipoprotein A-I by 40%, while raising LDL cholesterol by 29% — one of the most dramatic lipid derangements documented for any drug
The effect dwarfed that of supraphysiological IM testosterone in the same men, isolating the harm to the oral 17α-alkylated route rather than androgenicity per se
3RCTn=44 · small study2015
We evaluated, in a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, the extent and reversibility of abnormal liver enzymes and lipid profiles in patients with LDS and venous leg ulcers treated with stanozolol at 2 mg twice daily for up to 6 months.
Carson P, Hong CJ, Otero-Vinas M, Arsenault EF, Falanga V · The international journal of lower extremity wounds (2015)
A double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT in 44 older patients with lipodermatosclerosis and venous leg ulcers — compression alone vs compression plus stanozolol 2 mg twice daily for up to 6 months
Designed specifically to quantify the severity and reversibility of stanozolol's effects on liver enzymes (AST, ALT) and lipid profiles, with 2-month off-treatment follow-up
An outcome anchor for the hepatic/lipid safety question in a randomized, blinded design rather than a cohort
Relevant concern has been raised by the AAS hepatotoxicity including adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, cholestasis, and peliosis hepatis.
Solimini R, Rotolo MC, Mastrobattista L, Mortali C, Minutillo A, Pichini S, Pacifici R, Palmi I · European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2017)
Mandatory class-level counter-evidence on non-medical use: a review of the hepatotoxic effects of anabolic-androgenic steroids in doping/athlete and general-population misuse
AAS hepatotoxicity spans hepatic adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, cholestasis and peliosis hepatis — the severe end of the liver-injury spectrum
Notes AAS are frequently present in over-the-counter 'dietary supplements' without label declaration, leaving consumers unaware of the risk
5Observational2007
The minimal initial effective dosage of stanozolol was 0.5 to 2.0 mg daily, although most patients achieved symptomatic control and decreased the dose and frequency as the frequency of attacks decreased.
Sloane DE, Lee CW, Sheffer AL · The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology (2007)
Outcome anchor for the approved indication: a cohort of hereditary-angioedema patients treated with stanozolol for 20 to 40 years at a single institution
Documents durable attack control at low maintenance doses (initial 0.5–2.0 mg/day, often reduced further over time)
Long follow-up also surfaces the long-term harms — patients were monitored with hepatic-function assays, serum lipids, PSA and liver ultrasound, with treatment-related symptoms reported
Attenuated androgens have been successful in the short- and long-term treatment of HAE ... Scheduled monitoring of liver function tests and lipid profiles in patients treated with these medications is critical.
Banerji A, Sloane DE, Sheffer AL · Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology (2008)
State-of-the-art review of 40–50 years of attenuated-androgen use (including stanozolol) for hereditary angioedema
Confirms successful short- and long-term treatment of HAE — the clinical consensus underpinning the approved indication
States that scheduled monitoring of liver-function tests and lipid profiles is critical, and that use in children and pregnant women must be undertaken with great caution
The results of the biomechanical tests suggested that anabolic steroids produce a stiffer tendon, which fails with less elongation. ... Alterations of the sizes of the collagen fibrils were noted on electron microscopy.
Miles JW, Grana WA, Egle D, Min KW, Chitwood J · The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume (1992)
Mechanistic animal evidence for the connective-tissue concern: 24 rats randomized across anabolic-steroid and exercise variables, with biomechanical and histological tendon testing
Anabolic steroids produced a stiffer tendon that failed with less elongation, with altered collagen-fibril sizes on electron microscopy
Offers a biological basis for the tendon- and ligament-rupture reports in athletes who use anabolic steroids