Oxandrolone

Compound and historical uses

Oxandrolone is a synthetic androgen, also known as Anavar or Oxandrin. It acts at the androgen receptor and has been studied for muscle wasting, severe burns and growth disorders.^566,567

Why results vary

The studies involve very different people: older adults, people with severe burns, men losing weight with HIV, and girls with Turner syndrome. More lean mass, greater strength and better recovery are separate measurements.^{570,571,572,573}

Lean mass, water and strength

The best-known body-composition trial enrolled 32 older men.

Changes over 12 weeks

Healthy men aged 60 to 87 received oxandrolone or placebo. In the treated group, lean mass rose by 3.0 kg, total body water rose by 2.9 kg and total fat fell by 1.9 kg. Strength improved on several exercises. Lean mass includes water, so these changes overlap.⁵⁷⁰

After treatment stopped

Twelve weeks later, lean mass and strength were back near their starting values. Much of the fat reduction remained.⁵⁷⁰

Older women doing resistance training

A trial in 29 sedentary women, mean age 74.9 years, found greater lean-tissue gain and fat loss with oxandrolone. Both groups improved their strength and function through training, with no added functional benefit from the drug.⁵⁷⁴

The often-quoted 44% figure

That number was a 44% increase in fractional muscle protein synthesis rate after five days in six healthy young men. Researchers used blood sampling, muscle biopsies and tracer measurements to study protein turnover.⁵⁷⁵

Medical results were mixed

Benefits depended on the condition and the outcome.

Severe burns

An 81-adult trial reported average hospital stays of 31.6 days with oxandrolone and 43.3 days with placebo. It stopped early after a planned analysis found a difference. A separate Indonesian trial in 14 adults reported better preservation of estimated lean mass over 14 days.^571,576

Oxandrolone		24.1%
Placebo		29.8%

Percentage of target ulcers healed. 212 people with spinal-cord injury and severe pressure ulcers. Treatment lasted until healing or up to 24 weeks. The difference was not statistically significant; the trial stopped for futility.

Longer ventilation

In 41 ventilator-dependent surgical or trauma patients, average ventilation lasted 21.7 days with oxandrolone and 16.4 days with placebo. The result went against the trial's hypothesis that treatment would speed recovery.⁵⁷⁸

The newer burn evidence

An observational 2026 analysis included 813 major-burn patients across 12 US centers. It compared patients receiving testosterone, oxandrolone or growth hormone with patients receiving no anabolic treatment. The pooled treatment groups had no better inpatient weight maintenance and more blood-clot events; differences between the patients could affect those results.⁵⁷⁹

Growth and weight-loss disorders

These studies tested treatment in diagnosed conditions.

HIV-associated weight loss

A 262-man trial compared placebo with three oxandrolone doses over 12 weeks. Only the 40 mg group gained significantly more weight than placebo; the 40 and 80 mg groups gained more body-cell mass. Treatment also suppressed gonadal hormones, raised LDL and liver enzymes, and lowered HDL.⁵⁷²

Turner syndrome

The final UK analysis of 92 girls receiving growth hormone found 4.1 cm greater final height with added oxandrolone than with placebo. In a separate Dutch trial, the lower dose improved height gain, while the higher dose caused more virilization and faster bone maturation without a significant added height benefit.^580,573

Chinese clinical guidance

A 2018 Chinese pediatric consensus discussed oxandrolone as a treatment used abroad for Turner syndrome. It warned about virilization and delayed breast development, and advised monitoring liver enzymes.⁵⁸¹

Pediatric burns

A long-term trial in 222 children with major burns reported gains in growth and bone outcomes. Lean mass and strength improved when treatment was combined with exercise. Several papers from this research program describe overlapping groups of children.⁵⁸²

Liver, hormones and interactions

The former label carries serious liver and lipid warnings.

Liver effects

The label describes cholestatic hepatitis, jaundice, blood-filled liver cavities and liver tumors. In the pressure-ulcer trial, liver enzymes rose in 32.4% of oxandrolone recipients and 2.9% of placebo recipients.^583,577

Changes in women

Reported effects include acne, facial hair, menstrual changes, clitoral enlargement and a deeper voice. Some virilizing changes can persist after treatment stops. Voice lowering also appeared in the controlled Turner syndrome study.^583,584

Hormone suppression and recovery

The HIV trial measured LH, FSH and testosterone suppression during treatment. A Russian conference abstract measured reproductive hormones in 30 men after mixed, self-reported steroid use. Recovery time after oxandrolone alone remains poorly defined.^572,585

Pregnancy

The historical label contraindicates use during pregnancy because of the risk of masculinization of the fetus.⁵⁸³

Approval, sport and product identity

Regulatory status on September 30, 2026.

Rules by jurisdiction

US approvals were withdrawn in 2023, and DEA lists oxandrolone as Schedule III. Australia's June 2026 Poisons Standard lists Schedule 4; New Zealand's medicine-classification database lists it as prescription-only. Ingredient classification and product approval are separate records.^{568,586,587,588}

Prohibited in sport

WADA's 2026 list prohibits oxandrolone at all times under S1.1. The published 2027 list retains it and takes effect on January 1, 2027.^589,590

Product-testing results

In two Australian samples sold as oxandrolone, testing found stanozolol instead of oxandrolone in one and added testosterone in the other. The finding prompted a public drug alert in 2025.⁵⁹¹

Evidence gaps

Evidence in trained healthy athletes, long-term cardiovascular outcomes and recovery after stopping is sparse. Two 2025 burn meta-analyses from the same author group contain conflicting statistical results. The main conclusions rely on individual-trial findings.^{592,593,570,594}

Common questions

The questions readers ask, answered from the studies.

01 What doses and durations were actually studied, and what is the human half-life?

Historical studies used very different exposures: 15 mg daily for five days in six young men, 20 mg daily for 12 weeks in older men, and 20, 40 or 80 mg daily for 12 weeks in men with HIV-associated weight loss. The archived label reports average oral half-lives of 10.4 hours in younger volunteers and 13.3 hours in older adults.^{575,570,572,583}

02 Does it create a dry, hard look?

That appearance was not measured. In 32 men aged 60 to 87, 12 weeks of treatment increased lean mass by 3.0 kg and total body water by 2.9 kg while total fat fell by 1.9 kg, so the study does not show that oxandrolone removes water.⁵⁷⁰

03 What happened to cholesterol and cardiovascular risk markers?

In the 262-man HIV trial, LDL and liver enzymes rose while HDL fell. A separate 14-man study found changes in coagulation and fibrinolysis after 14 days, but it did not measure heart attacks, strokes or long-term cardiovascular outcomes.^572,594,583

04 What did studies show about hormone suppression and recovery after stopping?

The 12-week HIV trial found lower SHBG, LH, FSH, total testosterone and free testosterone during treatment. The HIV and older-men trials do not establish a typical recovery time; the older-men follow-up measured body composition and strength rather than endocrine recovery.^572,570,583

05 What about women or adolescents?

The historical label lists acne, menstrual changes, facial hair, clitoral enlargement and voice deepening in women, and says some virilizing changes can persist after stopping. In a 133-girl Turner trial, voice frequency fell in a dose-dependent pattern, while a 29-woman older-adult trial improved body composition but added no strength or functional benefit beyond resistance training. The label also warns that accelerated bone maturation in children can compromise adult height.^583,584,574

06 What medical uses were studied, and what did the trials find?

Results were mixed across severe illness. An 81-person adult burn trial stopped early after a planned interim analysis and reported a shorter hospital stay, and a 14-person burn trial reported better preservation of estimated lean mass; a 212-person pressure-ulcer trial found no healing benefit, and a 41-person ventilator trial found longer ventilation with oxandrolone. The 262-man HIV weight-loss trial found some dose-specific weight and body-cell-mass gains alongside hormone, lipid and liver-enzyme changes.^{571,576,577,578,572}

07 Can a product sold as Anavar be assumed to contain oxandrolone?

No. In two tested samples sold as oxandrolone, one contained stanozolol and no oxandrolone; the other contained oxandrolone plus testosterone. Two samples cannot estimate how common mislabeling is.^591,595

08 Which drug interactions are documented?

The clearest measured interaction is with warfarin. In 15 volunteers, oxandrolone increased S-warfarin half-life from 26 to 48 hours; nine had microscopic blood in urine and one had gum bleeding. The former label calls for prescriber-led anticoagulation monitoring when oxandrolone starts or stops.⁵⁸³

09 What is known about hair loss, acne and other androgenic effects?

The historical label lists acne in males and females and male-pattern hair loss, facial hair, menstrual changes and voice deepening in females. It does not provide reliable rates for these effects, and some virilizing changes can persist after treatment stops.⁵⁸³

10 How serious are the documented liver risks?

The former label and FDA withdrawal determination describe cholestatic hepatitis, jaundice, peliosis hepatis and liver tumors. In the 212-person pressure-ulcer trial, elevated liver enzymes occurred in 32.4% of oxandrolone recipients and 2.9% of placebo recipients, and the trial found no ulcer-healing benefit.^583,569,577

11 Is oxandrolone still approved, controlled, or prohibited in sport?

FDA withdrew the Oxandrin approval and four generic approvals effective June 28, 2023, then determined in September that Oxandrin was withdrawn for safety or effectiveness reasons and lacked substantial evidence of effectiveness. DEA lists oxandrolone as Schedule III, and WADA's 2026 list prohibits it at all times under S1.1.^{568,569,586,589}

12 What is known about mood, sleep and fatigue effects?

The historical label lists excitation, insomnia, depression and changes in libido, but it does not give reliable rates or show who is most likely to experience them.⁵⁸³

13 What did pediatric growth studies find, and what are the growth-plate risks?

In the final UK trial of 92 GH-treated girls with Turner syndrome, oxandrolone increased final height by 4.1 cm versus placebo. A separate 133-girl dose-response trial found a modest benefit with the lower dose, no significant added gain with the conventional dose, faster bone maturation and more reported virilization at the conventional dose. The former label warns that accelerated bone maturation can compromise adult height.^{580,573,584,583}

14 Which body-composition changes remained after treatment stopped?

In 32 older men, lean-mass and strength gains were no longer above baseline 12 weeks after treatment stopped. The reductions in total and trunk fat were largely maintained at that follow-up.⁵⁷⁰

15 What does the human muscle-biopsy study actually show?

A five-day protein-turnover study in six healthy young men found a 44% increase in muscle protein fractional synthesis and increased androgen-receptor messenger RNA, with no measured change in protein breakdown. It was a short, before-and-after mechanism study with no long-term body-composition or safety endpoint.⁵⁷⁵