:: Health Conditions - Cholesterol

DHEA - The Mother of all Hormones

What is DHEA?
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a natural, intermediate steroid hormone produced in our body by the adrenal glands. DHEA is called "mother of hormones", or prohormone because DHEA is further converted to generate 50 other essential hormones. For example, DHEA is converted to androgens (male hormones) or estrogens (female hormones) in the cells. DHEA is the most abundant hormone in our blood, and adequate blood DHEA level is critical for many vital hormonal and metabolic functions of our body. Our bodies produce less and less DHEA as we age, and as a result, our blood DHEA level decreases as we get older, generally falling significantly by the age of 30, and by as much as 50% by as 40.

Improved DHEA levels have been correlated with improved sense of well being, reduce body fat and improve skin tone and moisture, increase sex drive, improve immunity, enhance memory, and increase bone density. Numerous studies have proven great correlations between DHEA deficiency or insufficiency and a variety of diseases and symptoms. For example, decreased levels of DHEA predispose human and animals to higher probability of breast cancer, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's diseases, etc. A study reported in the prestigious journal Science in August 2002 directly correlates increased blood DHEA level to longevity.

DHEA dietary supplements have been in use for a variety of reasons: To deter aging, improve sexual function/erectile dysfunction, treat cognitive decline, enhance athletic performance, facilitate weight loss, improve strength, treat osteoporosis, improve immunomodulation for rheumatologic conditions, and treat depression.

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History
DHEA was first isolated from urine by Adolf Butenandt in 1931, who won Nobel prize for this. S-DHEA, the sulfate ester of DHEA, was isolated in 1944. In 1960, Etienne-Emile Baulieu discovered that HDEA is produced from adrenal cortex. During the period of 1972-1991, DHEA was tested for the effectiveness in reducing fat, protecting from cancers, and prevention of atherosclerosis. DHEA began to show up as an OTC supplement in early 1980, and was banned in 1985 by the US Food and Drug Administration for lack of clinical data to support the safety and medical claims made by the vendors. FDA's restrictions on DHEA was lifted and DHEA remerged in the market in 1994 for distribution to public. DHEA has been a hot topic both in commerce and research in the past two decades.

Usage
In general, DHEA dietary supplement is used to achieve the following:

• Anti-Aging
• Enhanced mood, energy, and memory
• Improved immune system
• Boosted sex drive (especially in women)
• Reduced Osteoporosis.Improved fat loss
• More muscle mass
• Reduced Autoimmune disorders
• Less Heart Disease

Recommended dose has been estimated to be 30-60 mg per day, although optimal dose has not been determined yet. Due to the low efficiency of DHEA absorption through intestines, varying proportions of the orally taken DHEA will not be delivered to bloodstream. On the average, a 20 year old male produces approximately 30 mg of DHEA per day, while an average female produces 20 mg DHEA per day. Unless one takes excessively large amount of DHEA on a regular basis, no side effect is expected. Strange things have been reported to occur, although rarely, at large-dose intake of DHEA: these include increased facial hair, acne, increase perspiration, menstrual irregularity, and adverse influence on prostate, etc.

DHEA Research:
Numerable scientific and clinical studies have been performed on DHEA. Some reports and reviews on DHEA researches are provided:

• J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2002 Apr;87(4):1544-9 - Dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation and bone turnover in middle-aged to elderly men
• J Sex Marital Ther 2002 Jan-Mar;28(1):53-60 - Acute dehydroepiandrosterone effects on sexual arousal in premenopausal women
• J Int Med Res 2002 Jan-Feb;30(1):9-14 - The effects of cardiopulmonary bypass on androgen hormones in coronary artery bypass surgery
• Arthritis Rheum 2002 Mar;46(3):654-62 - Inadequately low serum levels of steroid hormones in relation to interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor in untreated patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and reactive arthritis
• Anticancer Res 2001 Nov-Dec;21(6A):4051-4 - Serum dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (S-DHEA) and risk of melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
• J Sex Marital Ther 2002;28 Suppl 1:129-42 - Decreased free testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) levels in women with decreased libido
• Curr Opin Investig Drugs 2001 Aug;2(8):1045-53 - Novel therapies in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus
• Eur J Endocrinol 2002 Mar;146(3):375-80 - Decreased steroidogenic enzyme 17,20-lyase and increased 17-hydroxylase activities in type 2 diabetes mellitus
• Metabolism 2002 Mar;51(3):376-9 - Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on rat apolipoprotein AI gene expression in the human hepatoma cell line, HepG2
• J Clin Pharmacol 2002 Mar;42(3):247-66 - The influence of hormones and pharmaceutical agents on DHEA and DHEA-S concentrations: a review of clinical studies
• Endocr Regul 2001 Dec;35(4):217-22 - Circadian serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate in postmenopausal asthmatic women before and after long-term hormone replacement
• J Med Assoc Thai 2001 Oct;84 Suppl 2:S605-12 - DHEA(S): the fountain of youth
• Neuroscience 2002 Jan 28;109(2):243-51 - Dehydroepiandosterone and its sulphate enhance memory retention in day-old chicks.

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