Background: Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) are synthetic derivatives of testosterone that are abused by athletes to enhance their physical appearance and performance. AAS abusers have an increased risk of tendon ruptures compared with nonusers, and it has been proposed that AASs damage tendon tissue. Only a few human studies have investigated the effect of AASs on tendon tissue, and to our knowledge, there are no data on female sex. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose was to investigate the effect of current and former abuse of AASs on the patellar tendon (PT). It was hypothesized that AASs would not affect tendon tissue. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: This study included recreational athletes with current (female: n = 4; male: n = 18; total: n = 22) or former (female: n = 5; male: n = 7; total: n = 12) AAS abuse and nonusers (female: n = 5; male: n = 9; total: n = 14). The authors investigated the proportion of tendon injuries, PT cross-sectional area by magnetic resonance imaging, mechanical properties by ultrasound, gene expression levels of connective tissue proteins, and cell density by histological staining from tendon biopsy samples. Results: The combined AAS group (both current and former abusers) reported a higher proportion of upper body tendon injuries compared with nonusers (79.4% vs 28.6%, respectively; P = .002). There was no difference in PT cross-sectional area ( P = .918) or cell density (fascicular matrix: P = .413; interfascicular matrix: P = .982) between current AAS abusers, former AAS abusers, and nonusers. There was a greater expression of IGF-1 mRNA in current AAS abusers compared with nonusers ( P = .043), but there were no group differences in other mRNA targets. Former AAS abusers had significantly higher tendon deformation ( P = .030) and strain ( P = .026) at common force compared with nonusers. There were no significant differences between male and female participants in the effect of AASs on tendon tissue. Conclusion: These data show that the PT itself was not severely affected by AAS abuse.

中文翻译：

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当前和以前厌氧雄激素类固醇滥用对髌腱的影响

背景：厌氧代谢雄激素类固醇 （AAS） 是睾酮的合成衍生物，运动员滥用这些衍生物来增强他们的外表和表现。与非使用者相比，AAS 滥用者发生肌腱断裂的风险增加，并且有人提出 AAS 会损害肌腱组织。只有少数人体研究调查了 AAS 对肌腱组织的影响，据我们所知，没有关于女性的数据。目的/假设： 目的是调查当前和以前滥用 AAS 对髌腱 （PT） 的影响。据推测，AAS 不会影响肌腱组织。研究设计：横断面研究;证据水平，3.方法：本研究包括当前 （女性： n = 4;男性： n = 18;总计： n = 22） 或前任 （女性： n = 5;男性： n = 7;总计： n = 12） AAS 滥用和非使用者 （女性： n = 5;男性： n = 9;总计： n = 14）。作者通过组织学染色研究了肌腱活检样本的肌腱损伤比例、磁共振成像 PT 横截面积、超声机械性能、结缔组织蛋白的基因表达水平和细胞密度。结果： 与非使用者相比，联合 AAS 组 （当前和以前的滥用者） 报告的上半身肌腱损伤比例更高 （分别为 79.4% 和 28.6%;P = .002）。当前 AAS 滥用者、前 AAS 滥用者和非使用者之间的 PT 横截面积 （P = .918） 或细胞密度 （束基质： P = .413;束间基质： P = .982） 没有差异。与非使用者相比，当前 AAS 滥用者中 IGF-1 mRNA 的表达更高 （P = .043），但其他 mRNA 靶标没有组差异。 与非使用者相比，前 AAS 滥用者在普通力下的肌腱变形 （P = .030） 和应变 （P = .026） 显着更高。男性和女性参与者在 AAS 对肌腱组织的影响方面没有显著差异。结论： 这些数据表明 PT 本身没有受到 AAS 滥用的严重影响。