Description: Cytadren usually comes in 250-mg tablets in blister packs. The brand name Cytadren by CibaGeneva Pharmaceuticals, is an aminoglutethimide, in the US is a white tablet with CIBA and 24 stamped on one side of it. Cytadren inhibits the enzymatic conversion of cholesterol to 5-pregnenolone, resulting in a decrease in the production of adrenal glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, estrogens, and androgens. Cytadren also blocks several other steps in the steroid synthesis, including the C-11, C-18, and C-21 hydroxylation and the hydroxylation�s required for the aromatization of androgens to estrogens, mediated through the binding of Cytadren to cytochrome P-450 complexes. Cytadren has been prescribed for many reasons. It was originally used as a mild tranquilizer but then it was discovered that it could be used to treat Cushings Syndrome as an anti-cortisone in the body. Cushings Syndrome is a medical condition where the body overproduces cortisol. Cortisone is a catabolic hormone, which breaks down muscle in the body. Cortisone prevents the protein synthesis in the muscle cell, which results in muscle breakdown. Most recently and really most commonly, it has been used as an aromatase inhibitor to treat breast cancer in women. This is really where this drug becomes interesting to bodybuilders. The bodybuilders in the know don't use this drug as an anti-cortisol since extremely low cortisol levels would not be of benefit. They primarily use this drug as an aromatase inhibitor and to help in restoring HPTA function after a steroid cycle. Low dose Cytadren use, in the area of no more than 250 mg/day selectively inhibits aromatase with minimal effect on the enzymes that inhibit testicular and adrenal steroidogenesis. You would want to take the 250-mg per day in divided doses.

The preferable dosage schedule is to divide the tablet into 4 equal parts and take 62.5 mg every 6 hours or so. There are really three main reasons for taking it in low mg divided doses like those that are listed.

First off, you will be able to keep the cytadren drug serum levels at a fairly constant moderate level in the body throughout the day. This way it is more effective against aromatase rather than just spiking it to a high level from taking an entire tab, which also results in there being almost no desired anti-aromatase activity for part of the day since the drug is largely eliminated from your body due to the short half life being about 6-8 hours.

The second main reason for you wanting to keep the cytadren blood serum level low as opposed to the high spike is that you will have a higher ratio of desired anti-aromatase activity to undesired anti-desmolase activity. Cytadren works so well at reducing cortisone production in the body that it makes your body produce ACTH, which stimulates cortisone production as well effectively canceling out the effects of the drug. Since I am recommending taking low frequent doses, you will be able to keep from inhibiting desmolase activity thus avoiding the ACTH problems that would be happening with the single dose spike. Whenever cortisol levels are depressed by inhibition of desmolase, ACTH goes up in response. If you get the drug out of your system while ACTH is still elevated cortisol levels will rise to abnormally high levels for a time thus causing the problems.

The third main reason for keeping the dosage in the 250 mg per day dosage is that it is low enough at that dosage to not inhibit testosterone production by the body. Low dose cytadren selectively inhibits aromatase with minimal effect on the enzymes that inhibit testicular and adrenal steroidogenesis. Inhibition of aromatase can also result in increase in LH because of reduced estrogen levels, which would be beneficial in restoring HPTA functioning post cycle. Most of the abstracts on Medline that showed decreases in natural testosterone production were using closer to 1000 mg per day. Most people will be taking cytradren with steroids anyway so this really could be considered a moot point.

Side effects from this drug are as follows: fatigue, dizziness, restlessness, depression, sleeping problems, and headaches are the most common.

Effective Dose: You never want to take Cytadren in high dosages. For the purposes of bodybuilding, this drug is usually taken 250 mg per day in divided doses. Either take it at a 125 mg dose once upon waking and then take 2 62.5 mg doses every 7 hours thereafter or split it into fourths and take 62.5 mg / 4 times daily every 6 hours or so. If you were going to take it for a month, I would think that probably 250 mg/day in four divided doses for two weeks followed by dose of 125 mg/day in two divided doses for two more weeks would do the trick. You don't want to take this product for more than 4-6 weeks at a time in any respect though. You really need to taper down over a period of about a week to keep from experiencing a cortisol-rebound effect.

Street Price: This drug typically sells for about $2 per tablet on the street. It is not a scheduled drug but is prescription.

Stacking Info: This product is commonly taken along with Clomid or Nolvadex for improving the post steroid cycle recovery problems. It is more efficient and usually synergistic to combine drugs which accomplish the same goal by different mechanisms of action, as Cytadren and Clomid do since one reduces aromatization and the other tends to block estrogen receptors thus providing a dual mode of protection.