science

Norethandrolone

Norethandrolone is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Norethandrolone rather than just read about it. In short: Norethandrolone, sold under the brand names Nilevar and Pronabol among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which has been used to promote muscle growth and to treat severe burns, physical trauma, and aplastic anemia but has mostly been discontinued. It is still available for use in France however.

Key takeaways

Norethandrolone belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Norethandrolone to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Norethandrolone from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Norethandrolone, sold under the brand names Nilevar and Pronabol among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which has been used to promote muscle growth and to treat severe burns, physical trauma, and aplastic anemia but has mostly been discontinued. It is still available for use in France however. It is taken by mouth. Side effects of norethandrolone include symptoms of masculinization like acne, increased hair growth, voice changes, and increased sexual desire. It can also cause estrogenic effects like fluid retention, breast tenderness, and breast enlargement in men and liver damage. The drug is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid and hence is an agonist of the androgen receptor (AR), the biological target of androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It has strong anabolic effects relative to its androgenic effects. The drug also has strong progestogenic effects. Norethandrolone was discovered in 1953 and was introduced for medical use in 1956. It was the first AAS with a favorable separation of anabolic and androgenic effect to be marketed. The drug was mostly withdrawn in the 1980s due to concerns of liver damage. In addition to its medical use, norethandrolone has been used to improve physique and performance. The drug is a controlled substance in many countries and so non-medical use is generally illicit.

Medical uses Norethandrolone has been used in the treatment of muscle wasting, patients with severe burns, after severe trauma, and for certain forms of aplastic anemia among other indications.

Side effects Side effects of norethandrolone include virilization among others. It has estrogenic effects and can cause gynecomastia and fluid retention. As with all 17α-alkylated AAS, long-term use of norethandrolone in high doses may result in hepatotoxicity including elevated liver enzymes and cirrhosis.

Pharmacology

Pharmacodynamics

Norethandrolone is an androgen and anabolic steroid and hence is an agonist of the androgen receptor, the biological target of androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. It has a high ratio of anabolic to androgenic activity. Analogously to the case of nandrolone and 5α-dihydronandrolone, 5α-dihydronorethandrolone, the 5α-reduced metabolite of norethandrolone, shows diminished affinity for the androgen receptor relative to norethandrolone. This is likely related to the high ratio of anabolic to androgenic activity observed with norethandrolone. Norethandrolone has relatively high estrogenic activity via transformation by aromatase into the potent estrogen ethylestradiol. It also has strong progestogenic activity. The progestogenic potency of norethandrolone is similar to that of norethisterone in terms of endometrial changes in women. In addition, norethandrolone is hepatotoxic.

Pharmacokinetics The pharmacokinetics of norethandrolone have been reviewed.

Chemistry

Norethandrolone, also known as 17α-ethyl-19-nortestosterone or as 17α-ethylestr-4-en-17β-ol-3-one, is a synthetic estrane steroid and a 17α-alkylated derivative of testosterone and 19-nortestosterone (nandrolone). It is closely related to normethandrone (17α-methyl-19-nortestosterone) and to ethylestrenol (3-deketo-17α-ethyl-19-nortestosterone).

Synthesis Chemical syntheses of norethandrolone have been published.

History Norethandrolone was synthesized at G. D. Searle & Company in 1953 and was originally studied as a progestin, along with norethisterone and noretynodrel, but ultimately was not marketed as such. In 1955, it was re-examined for testosterone-like activity and was found to have similar anabolic activity to testosterone but only one-sixteenth the androgenic potency. Norethandrolone was introduced for medical use as an AAS in 1956 and was the first so-called "anabolic steroid", or AAS with a favorable separation of anabolic and androgenic effect, to be marketed. It was followed by normethandrone as a progestin in 1957 and by the more well-known AAS nandrolone phenylpropionate in 1959. Norethandrolone was introduced in the United States in the late 1950s under the brand name Nilevar but was discontinued in this country in the 1960s due to limited sales. Although it was also introduced into Europe and certain other markets, it was withdrawn in many countries in the 1980s due to concerns of cholestatic jaundice. Today, the drug remains available only in France.

Society and culture

Generic names Norethandrolone is the generic name of the drug and its INNTooltip International Nonproprietary Name and BANTooltip British Approved Name. It has also been referred to as noretandrolone, ethylnandrolone, and ethylnortestosterone, as well as by its developmental code name CB-8022.

Brand names Norethandrolone is marketed under the brand names Nilevar and Pronabol.

Availability Norethandrolone is available today only in France.

Research Norethandrolone has been studied for use in male hormonal contraception.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Norethandrolone

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Norethandrolone claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Norethandrolone before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Norethandrolone ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Norethandrolone

In research: Norethandrolone appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Norethandrolone in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Norethandrolone is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1-Ethylcyclopentanols, Androgens, Enones, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Norethandrolone outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Norethandrolone in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Norethandrolone means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Norethandrolone out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Norethandrolone in simple terms?

Why does Norethandrolone matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Norethandrolone?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Norethandrolone.