Oxymetholone

ID: oxymetholone

Aliases: Anadrol, Anadrol-50

Type: compound

Route/form: oral

Status: approved_or_legacy_prescription

Evidence level: approved / labelled

Best data tier: approved label + human controlled/review

Support scope: human, review/regulatory

Source types: human_rct, human_trial, label, review, safety_review

Linked sources: 7

Broad outcomes: Fat loss / metabolic health, Gut / immune / inflammation, Hormones / fertility / sexual health, Muscle growth / performance / recovery, PEDs / AAS / thermogenics, Safety / regulatory

Reading note: These are curation notes anchored to linked sources, not a clinical recommendation or protocol.

Targets / mechanism

• androgen receptor agonist
• 17-alpha-alkylated oral AAS
• erythropoietic/anabolic effects

Optimization domains

• steroid
• muscle
• body composition
• anemia
• weight gain
• doping
• liver

Research basis

• Official label and human wasting/anemia literature anchor oxymetholone as a potent oral anabolic steroid in serious medical contexts.
• Phase III HIV-wasting and hemodialysis RCT data provide human anabolic/metabolic anchors beyond anecdotal mass-gain claims.
• It is a useful high-risk comparator for oral AAS discussions because efficacy and toxicity are both clinically visible.

Limits, risks, and missing evidence

• Hepatic peliosis/tumor warnings, cholestatic injury, lipid disruption, blood-pressure effects, estrogenic/progestogenic-like side effects, and endocrine suppression make risk high.
• Medical anemia/wasting/hemodialysis contexts do not justify nonmedical mass-gain extrapolation.
• As with other oral 17-alpha-alkylated AAS, stacking and long duration sharply worsen the risk interpretation.

Risk flags

• prescription only
• oral 17aa aas
• severe hepatic warning
• lipid risk
• endocrine suppression
• cardiovascular risk

Linked papers, labels, and reviews

1. FDA label: Anadrol-50 oxymetholone tablets
   label / fda_oxymetholone_label
   Official oxymetholone label for anemia context, oral route, and serious hepatic warnings.
2. Oxymetholone therapy in HIV-wasting syndrome
   human_trial / pubmed_oxymetholone_hiv_wasting_1996
   Human HIV-wasting clinical source for oral oxymetholone anabolic effects; toxicity limits generalization.
3. Anabolic androgenic steroid-induced liver injury: an update
   safety_review / pubmed_aas_liver_effects_2018
   Class hepatic-risk review, especially relevant for 17-alpha-alkylated oral AAS such as oxymetholone, methandienone, stanozolol, and oxandrolone.
4. Anabolic-androgenic steroids: How do they work and what are the risks?
   review / pubmed_aas_risks_2023
   General AAS mechanism and risk review; used as class-level caution for nonmedical androgen/anabolic steroid entries.
5. Oxymetholone ameliorates insulin sensitivity in maintenance hemodialysis patients: a randomized controlled trial
   human_rct / pubmed_oxymetholone_hemodialysis_insulin_2009
   Hemodialysis RCT source; demonstrates systemic metabolic/anabolic relevance but in high-medical-risk disease context.
6. Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trial of oxymetholone for the treatment of HIV wasting
   human_rct / pubmed_oxymetholone_hiv_wasting_phase3_2003
   Phase III HIV-wasting RCT source for oxymetholone; serious indication and toxicity context, not casual mass-gain evidence.
7. Anabolic-androgenic steroids among recreational athletes and cardiovascular risk
   safety_review / pubmed_aas_recreational_athletes_cv_review_2025
   Recent cardiovascular-risk review focused on recreational athlete AAS use; class-level safety source for nonmedical androgen entries.