The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved androstenedione as a dietary supplement. The standards for approval in this category are far less strict than those for compounds classified as drugs.

For a dietary supplement, the FDA requires proof that the substance does not harm a user, but there need be no evidence of the benefits.

For this reason, a spokesperson for the FDA said, the organization can not comment on androstenedione's performance-enhancing capabilities.

A spokesperson for AST Sports Science, another manufacturer of androstenedione, says that independent laboratories have already concluded that androstenedione is safe for use. Therefore, he said, AST is not worried about the outcome of the HMS study.

The study conducted by Finkelstein and Leder will consist of giving male subjects doses of androstenedione over a period of several months, and measure its effects on their hormonal levels.

It will not, Finkelstein says, attempt to quantify the compound's ability to enhance performance.

Results of the study are not expected until later this year, well after the beginning of the baseball season in April.