androstanolone androstanolone androstanolone, or stanolone, also known as dihydrotestosterone (dht) and sold under the brand name andractim among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (aas) medication and hormone which is used mainly in the treatment of low testosterone levels in men. it is also used to treat breast development and small penis in males. it is typically given as a gel for application to the skin, but can also be used as an ester by injection into muscle. this article is about dihydrotestosterone as a medication. for as a natural hormone, see dihydrotestosterone. androstanoloneclinical datatrade namesandractim, othersother namesstanolone; dihydrotestosterone; dht; 5α-dihydrotestosterone; 5α-dhtpregnancycategory x routes ofadministrationtransdermal (gel), in the cheek, under the tongue, intramuscular injection (as esters)drug classandrogen; anabolic steroidatc codea14aa01 (who) pharmacokinetic databioavailabilityoral: very lowtransdermal: 10%im injection: 100%metabolismliverelimination half-lifetransdermal: 2.8 hoursexcretionurineidentifiers iupac name (5s,8r,9s,10s,13s,14s,17s)-17-hydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-tetradecahydrocyclopentaphenanthren-3-one cas number521-18-6 ypubchem cid10635iuphar/bps2856drugbankdb02901 ychemspider10189 yunii08j2k08a3ychebichebi:16330 ychemblchembl27769 ychemical and physical dataformulac19h30o2molar mass290.447 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles o=c4c3cc2(cc1(c)(o)cc12)3(c)cc4 inchi inchi=1s/c19h30o2/c1-18-9-7-13(20)11-12(18)3-4-14-15-5-6-17(21)19(15,2)10-8-16(14)18/h12,14-17,21h,3-11h2,1-2h3/t12-,14-,15-,16-,17-,18-,19-/m0/s1 ykey:nvkawkqgwwiwpm-abevxsgrsa-n y (verify) side effects of androstanolone include symptoms of masculinization like acne, increased hair growth, voice changes, and increased sexual desire. the medication is a naturally occurring androgen and anabolic steroid and hence is an agonist of the androgen receptor (ar), the biological target of androgens like testosterone and dht. it has strong androgenic effects and weak muscle-building effects, as well as no estrogenic effects. androstanolone was discovered in 1935 and was introduced for medical use in 1953. it is used mostly in france and belgium. the drug has been used by weightlifters to increase performance due to its powerful androgenic properties. the medication is a controlled substance in many countries and so non-medical use is generally illicit. medical uses androstanolone is available in pharmaceutical formulations for medical use as an androgen. it is used mainly as a form of androgen replacement therapy in the treatment of male hypogonadism and is specifically approved for this indication in certain countries. however, it is no longer recommended for this purpose due to biological differences from testosterone such as lack of estrogenic effects and partial androgenic effects. topical androstanolone is useful in the treatment of gynecomastia. similarly, androstanolone enanthate via intramuscular injection has been found to be effective in the treatment persistent pubertal gynecomastia. the medication has also been used as a topical gel to treat small penis in pre- and peripubertal boys with mild or partial androgen insensitivity syndrome. androstanolone was found to be effective in the treatment of advanced breast cancer in women in the 1950s, although it was used in very high doses and caused severe virilization. it was used as a microcrystalline aqueous suspension by intramuscular injection. shortly thereafter, drostanolone propionate (2α-methylandrostanolone propionate) was developed for this use instead of androstanolone due to its superior pharmacokinetics and was introduced for this indication in the united states and europe in the early 1960s. androstanolone was used at a dose of 25 mg sublingually two to three times per day in androgen replacement therapy for men. this is also the anabolic dosage of androstanolone in men. androgen replacement therapy formulations and dosages used in men routemedicationmajor brand namesformdosage oraltestosteronea–tablet400–800 mg/day (in divided doses) testosterone undecanoateandriol, jatenzocapsule40–80 mg/2–4x day (with meals) methyltestosteronebandroid, metandren, testredtablet10–50 mg/day fluoxymesteronebhalotestin, ora-testryl, ultandrentablet5–20 mg/day metandienonebdianaboltablet5–15 mg/day mesterolonebprovirontablet25–150 mg/day sublingualtestosteronebtestoraltablet5–10 mg 1–4x/day methyltestosteronebmetandren, oreton methyltablet10–30 mg/day buccaltestosteronestrianttablet30 mg 2x/day methyltestosteronebmetandren, oreton methyltablet5–25 mg/day transdermaltestosteroneandrogel, testim, testogelgel25–125 mg/day androderm, andropatch, testopatchnon-scrotal patch2.5–15 mg/day testodermscrotal patch4–6 mg/day axironaxillary solution30–120 mg/day androstanolone (dht)andractimgel100–250 mg/day rectaltestosteronerektandron, testosteronbsuppository40 mg 2–3x/day injection (im or sc)testosteroneandronaq, sterotate, virosteroneaqueous suspension10–50 mg 2–3x/week testosterone propionatebtestovironoil solution10–50 mg 2–3x/week testosterone enanthatedelatestryloil solution50–250 mg 1x/1–4 weeks xyostedauto-injector50–100 mg 1x/week testosterone cypionatedepo-testosteroneoil solution50–250 mg 1x/1–4 weeks testosterone isobutyrateagovirin depotaqueous suspension50–100 mg 1x/1–2 weeks testosterone phenylacetatebperandren, androjectoil solution50–200 mg 1x/3–5 weeks mixed testosterone esterssustanon 100, sustanon 250oil solution50–250 mg 1x/2–4 weeks testosterone undecanoateaveed, nebidooil solution750–1,000 mg 1x/10–14 weeks testosterone buciclatea–aqueous suspension600–1,000 mg 1x/12–20 weeks implanttestosteronetestopelpellet150–1,200 mg/3–6 months notes: men produce about 3 to 11 mg testosterone per day (mean 7 mg/day in young men). footnotes: a = never marketed. b = no longer used and/or no longer marketed. sources: see template. androgen/anabolic steroid dosages for breast cancer routemedicationformdosage oralmethyltestosteronetablet30–200 mg/day fluoxymesteronetablet10–40 mg 3x/day calusteronetablet40–80 mg 4x/day normethandronetablet40 mg/day buccalmethyltestosteronetablet25–100 mg/day injection (im or sc)testosterone propionateoil solution50–100 mg 3x/week testosterone enanthateoil solution200–400 mg 1x/2–4 weeks testosterone cypionateoil solution200–400 mg 1x/2–4 weeks mixed testosterone estersoil solution250 mg 1x/week methandriolaqueous suspension100 mg 3x/week androstanolone (dht)aqueous suspension300 mg 3x/week drostanolone propionateoil solution100 mg 1–3x/week metenolone enanthateoil solution400 mg 3x/week nandrolone decanoateoil solution50–100 mg 1x/1–3 weeks nandrolone phenylpropionateoil solution50–100 mg/week note: dosages are not necessarily equivalent. sources: see template. available forms androstanolone is available as a 2.5% hydroalcoholic gel given transdermally in doses of 5 or 10 g/day (brand name andractim). the medication was previously available as a 10 mg oral tablet with 300 mg l-lysine (brand name lysinex) and as a 25 mg sublingual tablet (brand names anabolex, anaprotin, anabolene, anaboleen, proteina). the medication has also been marketed in the form of several androstanolone esters, including androstanolone benzoate (brand names ermalone-amp, hermalone, sarcosan), androstanolone enanthate (brand name anaboleen depot), androstanolone propionate (brand name pesomax), and androstanolone valerate (brand name apeton), which are provided as oil solutions for intramuscular injection at regular intervals. side effects