Pharmacology is the study of drugs and their effects. Anabolic pharmacology is the study of drugs that have a growth-promoting effect in muscle. This column will explore anabolic pharmacology by profiling a different anabolic drug and its effects each month. The focus of discussion this month will be the anabolic-androgenic steroid, Nilevar.
Nilevar (norethandrolone) is the C-17 alpha-ethylated derivative of nortestosterone (nandrolone). This modification renders norethandrolone even more progestational than nandrolone. This steroid is also very similar to norbolethone, having only a methyl group at C-18 instead of an ethyl. This makes norethandrolone less progestational than norbolethone. People often refer to nilevar as “oral Deca” and it is often substituted for anavar. Nilevar does have stronger binding to the AR than testosterone, but less than that of nandrolone. On the other hand, its binding affinity for the PR is twice that of nandrolone, which likely makes it less of a partial agonist and more of a full agonist, similar to trenbolone. Nilevar may not be an “oral Deca,” but it has advantages over nandrolone.
Nilevar can be taken orally and is less liver-toxic than equal doses of methandrostenolone, due to the fact that the ethyl group seems to have less effect on the liver than the methyl group. Like nandrolone, norethandrolone is 5-alpha-reduced to less-potent dihydro metabolites, and acts as a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) in the sense that it is more active in skeletal muscle than in the prostate. Hair loss and prostate enlargement should not be a concern with norethandrolone, when it’s used in reasonable doses. Unlike nandrolone, norethandrolone converts to ethylestradiol that has almost no activity at the estrogen receptors, and may actually act as an antagonist.
Nilevar is a potent steroid that delivers quality gains. Those who receive nilevar as a counterfeit version of Anavar will likely notice the difference, as they are very different compounds. Nilevar is generally more potent than Anavar but if a lower dose is substituted, the user may not realize the substitution has occurred. Nilevar should be effective in doses as little as 10 mgs, but most would use it at doses of 30 mgs or more. A study in the literature showed that 25 mgs per week of norethandrolone produced gains of about half a pound per week, or six pounds in 12 weeks, with few side effects. Fifty mgs did not show improved efficacy over 25 mgs.
Like methandrostenolone, Nilevar causes increases in free and total cortisol levels, and increases appetite. Norethandrolone decreases thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) to the same degree as oxandrolone, with a compensatory increase in thyroxine-binding pre-albumin (TBPA). This will result in higher free T3 and T3 uptake. The effect on TBG is opposite to that of nandrolone, which further suggests that it is not necessarily an oral form of Deca. The anabolic-to-androgenic ratio for norethandrolone shows it to be anabolic, with lower levels of androgenic activity. Both steroids are similar to nandrolone, with slightly higher androgenic activity.
