Trestolone Acetate (MENT)

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GP MENT is a product containing the hormone Trestolone Acetate (7 alpha-Methyl-19-nortestosterone). General steroid potency is usually increased with 7-methylation, which is a trait that is well illustrated with MENT. When methylation increases steroid potency it is usually due to one or two things, most notable being the increased resistance to being metabolized by the liver, or reduced affinity for constructive binding proteins. In the case of MENT, we see a drug relatively fast metabolic breakdown, but that doesn't bind to SHBG. The reduced binding to SHBG is the reason that MENT becomes a much more potent steroid.

When first studied, research showed that MENT could be 3.5-23 times more anabolic than testosterone, yet was only 3-6 times more androgenic. When a study was later done on primates, MENT was shown to have 10 times more anabolic potency than testosterone while having much lower effects on the prostate. In a study to show how well MENT binds to the androgen receptor, it was discovered that this drug binds to the receptor more strongly than both testosterone and nandrolone. Another study looked at the ability for MENT to restore sexual behavior in men suffering from symptoms of low testosterone, which is one of the main objectives of androgen replacement therapy. During this study, MENT was shown to be just as effective as testosterone therapy for these purposes. If ever marketed for use, MENT will be aromatized by the body and will cause synthetic estrogen buildup which will carry a high level of biological activity. This means that gynecomastia can be a problem, as well as other estrogen related side effects which can include excess water retention causing the user to have a bloated look without much definition to the muscle structure and can also lead for excess fat buildup to occur. Because of this, users of MENT will most likely want to run some sort of anti-estrogen during their cycle to keep levels down.

MENT has not yet been developed for use, so it's not known what the doses will be. Due to the study results so far, it is suspected that a low dose will be sufficient due to the fact that this drug has been shown to be several times more potent than testosterone.

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Testosterone and its esters are widely used for androgen replacement therapy. Testosterone undergoes 5 alpha-reduction to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the prostate and other tissues leading to potentially undesirable consequences in adult males.

Trestolone or 7 alpha-Methyl-19-nortestosterone (MENT) is a syntheticandrogen that is ten times as potent as testosterone. MENT is not 5-alpha reduced to DHT. It inhibits gonadotrophin release, suppresses testosterone and sperm production. Yet, MENT provides adequate replacement therapy for most androgen-dependant functions. MENT has a faster metabolic clearance rate than testosterone and, in contrast to testosterone, MENT does not bind to sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). MENT remains capable of aromatization preserving the benefits estrogen imparts on male physiology.

The Population Council has investigated MENT for long-term clinical use for contraceptive purposes and hormone replacement therapy. Initial trials suggest it may be an ideal candidate since it is a non-5-alpha reducible androgen and requires lower doses due to its significantly increased potency over testosterone.

Various forms of MENT in human pharmaceutical preparations and devices for contraception and hormone therapy, specifically MENT Ac implantand MENT transdermal gel and patch formulations, are currently under clinical investigation. MENT is absorbed transdermally up to three times the rate of testosterone - 17 methyl testosterone and 17-α methyl testosterone.

MENT, as a transdermal and/or intramuscular preparation, will have application in a wide range of indications beyond androgen replacement therapy and contraception, including, without limitation, primary hypogonadism, testicular failure, ASIH, baldness, sarcopenia, loss of bone mass, muscle wasting and cachexia, BPH, prostate cancer and of course, bodybuilding and sports performance enhancement.

Trestolone acetate is the chemical name of active ingredient in MENT. MENT is a registered trademark of Population Council, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

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Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in Trestolone Acetate (a/k/a 7 alpha-Methyl-19-nortestosterone, or MENT), due to it’s sudden availability thanks to the efforts of several black market hormone suppliers. Until recently, we’d mostly heard about this steroid through Bodybuilding.com’s now defunct steroid profiles written by Pete Von Mol. And actually, this is rightly where the underground story of Trestolone Acetate, or MENT, as he called it, begins. with him telling the reader:

“MENT has always been my favourite steroid, and that’s just from reading the studies and looking at the structure of it. Thinking of what MENT can do should make every steroid user drool”

The key words here are “steroid” and “user” - because the author of those words - which have been copied and pasted on hundreds of discussion boards - has never actually used steroids. Right…So this guy who is talking about his favorite steroid (which he has never used), is also a guy who has never used any steroids at all. If you end up making it to the end of the profile, what you’ll find is this:

Keep in mind that there are very few real world results with MENT on humans, and there is no literal data on its hypertrophic ability, so a lot of this is hypothetical, based on the available studies and evidence.

Of course, at the time of that original writing, this particular steroid wasn’t even available on the black market, so not only had the author not even tried the drug, but he didn’t know anyone who had tried it either. Nonetheless, with the Internet being the wonderful place that it is, demand for MENT was stimulated by Pete’s glowing endorsement, and that demand stayed high until present day, when we now have several underground labs releasing their own versions of it. Awesome.
I mention this mainly because it amuses me, but also because it’s important to realize where the demand for this steroid came from.

Chemically speaking, it’s actually an alright looking drug. It doesn’t show much interaction with Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (J Med Chem. 1992 May 29;35(11):2113-29.), which means that a good portion ought to stay unbound and active in the blood. Also, the drug is a potent binder to the androgen receptor (J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 1999 Dec 31;71(5-6):213-22.), while showing minimal affinity for the progesterone and mineralocorticoid receptors respectively (J Med Chem. 1992 May 29;35(11):2113-29.). Since it is not able to be 5a-reduced into a dihydro-version, it likely wouldn’t cause many of the side effects commonly associated with Dihydrotestosterone. This is also a likely reason that it is less apt to cause prostate enlargement, and may even be indicated for the treatment of specific prostate issues (Ann Med. 1993 Apr;25(2):199-205.)
But the part that would likely thrill most steroid users is the following (quoted directly from a study comparing MENT with Testosterone):

The ability of 7 alpha-methyl-19-nortestosterone acetate (MENT) to increase the weights of ventral prostate and seminal vesicles of castrated rats was four times higher than that of testosterone, while its effect on the weights of bulbocavernosus plus levator ani muscles (muscle), was 10 times that of testosterone.(Endocrinology. 1992 Jun;130(6):3677-83.)

When we talk about the androgenic rating of a steroid (any steroid), we’re actually talking about its ability to increase the weight of the ventral prostate. In many cases, this score (compared to testosterone, which is scored at 100 for its androgenic rating) gives us a clue as to how much of an androgenic effect a given steroid will have on a user. And when we’re talking about androgenic effects, we’re specifically talking about the development of male secondary sexual characteristics. Naturally, when we look at the hypertrophy of the levator ani muscle, we’re seeing the anabolic effect of this steroid…which, according to the quoted research was found to be 10x that of testosterone.

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Ten times as anabolic as testosterone!

Is this a deceiving statement? Of course it is. Remember, this is rodent data, and we can point to numerous other drugs that, on paper, have a higher anabolic rating than testosterone, while producing negligible results in real life. Remember, you may write out your cycles on a piece of paper, but that’s not where you actually do them; you do them in real life. Still, judging from the feedback I’ve received from users who have tried it, we’re looking at a nice, potent, anabolic, with a complimentary androgenic factor.
Both Nandrolone and Trenbolone are cousins to MENT, and are very useful on either cutting or bulking cycles. From the current feedback from users who have tried MENT, it would appear that it too lends itself equally to both uses. Because this drug is currently only available with a short acting ester (thereby causing it to remain active for only a couple of days), the majority of feedback I’ve seen is from its use on cutting cycles. Feedback has been positive, but nothing compared to the fanfare it received for the decade prior to its market release.

Unfortunately, the same study that tells us that MENT is 10x as anabolic as testosterone, and 4x as androgenic, also tells us that MENT is 12x as suppressive to serum gonadatropins as testosterone. For this reason, it is very appealing to scientists who have studied it for use as a male contraceptive - and ended up calling it “The Optimal Androgen for Male Contraception” (Ann Med. 1993 Apr;25(2):199-205.). In addition, and partly owing to its inability to be 5a-reduced, MENT is converted (via the aromatase enzyme) to a very potent form of estrogen - which can cause gynecomastia (enlarged breast tissue in males), and several other nasty side effects.

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Trestolone is a compound still in its infant stage with medicinal applications leaning toward testosterone replacement therapy and male contraception. Ironically, trestolone acetate is a derivative of nandrolone and yet it seems that trestolone does not have the libido drawback that nandrolone has. Trestolone is considered to be nearly as potent as cheque drops but without nearly as much hepatotoxicity. This compound is a derivative of nandrolone with a 7-alpha-methyl attachment which preven alpha-5 reduction of the compound. However, due to the 7-alpha-methylation, Trestolone is capable of aromatizing to 7-alpha-methyl-estradiol. Based upon information obtained concerning Trestolone, it should be much strong than testosterone with high hypertrophy ability, estrogenic characteristics much like Nandrolone, and androgenic effects a lot like Trenbolone.. However, due to so little human studies thus far, it is not yet known just how it will effect muscle hypertrophy or aromatization.

In studies on castrated mice, Trestolone exhibited the ability to regenerate seminal vesicles somewhat and increase sexual activity at a third of the dose of testosterone with no aggressive behavior in the mice. However, the downsides of Trestolone include greater prostate hypertrophy and HTPA suppression than what occurs with testosterone.

Based on hypotheses, the ideal dose of Trestolone should be between 25 mg and 50/mg/day, or 50-100 mg/EOD. If this steroid were obtainable, it would be ideal to not only use an anti-aromatase, but Nolvadex as well. Trestolone stacked with testosterone (such as propionate) could be a very potent combination for real growth. However, there is not enough known about Trestolone yet to experiment with it for bodybuilding purposes. For now, leave the experimentation to the clinics.