FDA warns consumers not to use muscle growth product

Nelson Vergel · Dec 23, 2013

Product marketed as a dietary supplement contains potentially harmful synthetic steroids
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to immediately stop using a product called Mass Destruction, marketed as a dietary supplement for muscle growth. The product is labeled to contain at least one synthetic anabolic steroid and has been linked to at least one reported serious illness.
View a larger version of this image on Flickr.

View a larger version of this image on Flickr.
The FDA was alerted by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services of a serious injury associated with use of Mass Destruction. The report described a previously healthy 28-year-old male with liver failure requiring transplant after several weeks of product use. Liver injury is generally known to be a possible outcome of using products that contain anabolic steroids and steroid-like substances. The product's ingredients are undergoing further analysis by the FDA.

Rorinsmith · Dec 24, 2013

Yikes. Liver transplant. Sounds like Mass Destruction truly lives up to its name.

Bobby · Dec 25, 2013

Yup, methylated substances will definitely piss off your liver.

Nelson Vergel · Apr 13, 2015

Li N, Hauser R, Holford T, Zhu Y, Zhang Y, et al. Muscle-building supplement use and increased risk of testicular germ cell cancer in men from Connecticut and Massachusetts. Br J Cancer. 2015;112(7):1247-50. http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v112/n7/full/bjc201526a.html

Background: No analytic epidemiological study has examined the relationship between use of muscle-building supplements (MBSs) and testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC) risk.

Methods: We conducted a population-based case–control study including 356 TGCC cases and 513 controls from Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Results: The odds ratio (OR) for ever use of MBSs in relation to risk of TGCC was significantly elevated (OR=1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–2.46). The associations were significantly stronger among early users, men with more types of MBSs used, and longer periods of use.

Conclusions: MBS use is a potentially modifiable risk factor that may be associated with TGCC.