Anabolic Steroid Use and Renal Failure

Yesterday, The New York Times posted online an article with an accompanying video about the link between anabolic steroid use and progressive renal disease.

The video was compelling and detailed the story of Patrick Antonecchia who competed in powerlifting and strong man events for more than 25 years. He was forced to quit when he received a diagnosis of severe kidney damage after years of using anabolic steroids.

This article follows up the research offering published by the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology earlier this year. The JASN paper identified an association between focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and proteinuria in a cohort of 10 bodybuilders who abused anabolic steroids. One of the ten progressed to end stage. The authors warn that this may be an under-recognized phenomena since many bodybuilders have elevated serum creatinine which is often attributed soley to the increased muscle mass. Perhaps, a higher degree of suspicion is in order to catch FSGS early in this patient population.