Dr. William Regelson of the Medical
College of Virginia, states that DHEA is “one of the best
biochemical bio-markers for chronologic age.” In some
people, DHEA levels decline 95% during their lifetime.
In animal studies, DHEA has been reported to extend lifespans up to
50%.
In a study of
over 200 men aged 50 to 79, researchers reported
that DHEA levels were inversely correlated with
mortality...thus dubbing DHEA the "anti-aging hormone". The research suggests that supplemental
DHEA may prevent disease, reduce mortality, and extend
our lifespans.
The book, The Biologic Role of
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), interprets work of scientists from around the world who are
conducting DHEA research. Book editors stated that, “DHEA modulates
diabetes, obesity, carcinogenesis, tumor growth,
neurite outgrowth, virus and bacterial infection,
stress, pregnancy, hypertension, collagen and skin
integrity, fatigue, depression, memory and immune
responses.”
Dr. Terrence T. Yen studied the effect of DHEA on genetically
obese mice. The DHEA treated mice remained thin and lived longer
than control group. Dr. M. P. Cleary found that even
middle-aged obese rats lost weight when supplemented with DHEA and the incidence of diabetes was decreased.
DHEA has been shown to inhibit
glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), an enzyme
that breaks down glucose and turns glucose into
fat. DHEA may redirect glucose from
anabolic fat-production into catabolic energy.
Reports from England [Bulbrook, 1962, 1971]
suggest DHEA was abnormally low in women who
developed breast cancer. Of 5000 women followed in the study, 27 developed cancer,
most of the 27 had abnormally low levels of DHEA. Dr. Arthur
Schwartz of Temple University found that supplemental
DHEA significantly protected cell cultures from the
toxicity of carcinogens. Cell cultures usually respond
to carcinogens with changes in
DNA, changes in cell appearance,
and a high rate of cell death. But when Schwartz added
DHEA along with the carcinogen, all three
effects were significantly diminished.
Subsequent studies [Schwartz, 1979] report protective effects of supplemental DHEA for
cancer prone mice. The control
animals were testing positive for cancer while the
DHEA animals had no tumors. In two later studies with
different strains of mice, Schwartz found 75% and 100%
reductions in tumor incidence at 8 months of age and
50% and 75% reductions at 15 months of age. DHEA has demonstrated protective effects
for cancers of the skin, lungs, bowel, breast and
liver. DHEA is currently being tested in human cancer.
DHEA may also help protect
brain neurons from senility associated degenerative
conditions, like Alzheimer’s with studies showing enhanced long-term memory
in mice. It may play a
similar role in humans.
DHEA may be unique among hormones for it’s lack of
specificity. Regelson states:
“It is a broad-acting hormone that only demonstrates
itself under a specific set of circumstances. In that
way, it is like a buffer against sudden changes in
acidity or alkalinity. That is why when you get older,
you’re much more vulnerable to the effects of stress.
As DHEA declines with age, you are losing the buffer
against the stress-related hormones. It is the buffer
action that [helps prevent] us from aging.”
Recomended Dose
Dosages for humans have not been determined, 25 to 50 mg is suggested.
Some of the information above derived from the following resources:
New England Journal of Medicine 315(24): 1519-24, 11 December 1986.
Lancet 2: 1238-40, 1962.
Lancet 2: 395-98, 1971.
International Journal of Obesity 10(3): 193-204, 1986.
The Biologic Role of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA),1990. ISBN 3-11-012243-X.
Prevention of obesity in Avy/a mice by dehydroepiandrosterone. Lipids 12: 409-13, 1977.
