The Facts
Touted as the 'super hormone', 'legal steroid' and 'fountain of youth' of the 90's...young body builders seek out its promises of strength enhancement and increases in lean body mass; middle-aged men are using it to spice up their sex drive and seniors are using it in the hopes of putting 'any' sex back into their lives period. Women as well are seeking the benefits from the alledged 'mother of all hormones'. But should people be rushing to jump on another unproven, possibly even dangerous 'feel young again' bandwagon.
Weird stuff this Dehydroepiandrosterone, it's made from cholesterol. Yes we are talking about the same cholesterol all right, but instead of using building blocks of this stuff to create the blood impeding walls that clog our arteries, this waxy substance is used by the human body to build the chemical cousin of testosterone and estrogen, DHEA. It's actually a steroid hormone that really doesn't get produced by the body until around the age of six. Hormone production peaks out in the mid-20s while the 30s bring a steady decline to finally leveling off at about 20% of what we had 50 years ealier by age 75.
The following are some interesting quotes made by some credible people who have taken DHEA seriously and aren't afraid to say so.
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"DHEA is the snake oil of the '90s. It makes me very nervous that people are using a drug we don't know anything about. I won't recommend it," says Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD, professor and chair, department of family and preventive medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Her studies of natural DHEA levels in older people suggest that higher levels may protect men against heart disease.
"Selling potent steroid hormones in health food stores or by mail could be a disaster in the making. DHEA should be classified as an investigational drug and used only in clinical research until we figure out what it does and its side effects," says Peter Hornsby, PhD, associate professor of cell biology at Baylor College of Medicine. His team has just identified the body's DHEA-making cells.
With DHEA and aging, there are no proven benefits and some potentially serious risks. Yet people are flocking to use this virtually unregulated substance, which troubles HealthNews associate editor Arthur Feinberg, MD. "The potential for irreversible side effects is real," he says. "So given that there's no convincing evidence for any benefit of DHEA, I feel strongly that people should not take it."
"No one should take DHEA except under the supervision of a physician, who should routinely check steroid and cholesterol levels, glucose tolerance, and prostate health in men," says John Nestle, MD, professor of endocrinology and metabolism at Virginia Commonwealth University, who studies DHEA's effects on diabetes and blood clotting.
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Touted as the 'super hormone', 'legal steroid' and 'fountain of youth' of the 90's...young body builders seek out its promises of strength enhancement and increases in lean body mass; middle-aged men are using it to spice up their sex drive and seniors are using it in the hopes of putting 'any' sex back into their lives period. Women as well are seeking the benefits from the alledged 'mother of all hormones'. But should people be rushing to jump on another unproven, possibly even dangerous 'feel young again' bandwagon.
Weird stuff this Dehydroepiandrosterone, it's made from cholesterol. Yes we are talking about the same cholesterol all right, but instead of using building blocks of this stuff to create the blood impeding walls that clog our arteries, this waxy substance is used by the human body to build the chemical cousin of testosterone and estrogen, DHEA. It's actually a steroid hormone that really doesn't get produced by the body until around the age of six. Hormone production peaks out in the mid-20s while the 30s bring a steady decline to finally leveling off at about 20% of what we had 50 years ealier by age 75.
The following are some interesting quotes made by some credible people who have taken DHEA seriously and aren't afraid to say so.
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"DHEA is the snake oil of the '90s. It makes me very nervous that people are using a drug we don't know anything about. I won't recommend it," says Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD, professor and chair, department of family and preventive medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Her studies of natural DHEA levels in older people suggest that higher levels may protect men against heart disease.
"Selling potent steroid hormones in health food stores or by mail could be a disaster in the making. DHEA should be classified as an investigational drug and used only in clinical research until we figure out what it does and its side effects," says Peter Hornsby, PhD, associate professor of cell biology at Baylor College of Medicine. His team has just identified the body's DHEA-making cells.
With DHEA and aging, there are no proven benefits and some potentially serious risks. Yet people are flocking to use this virtually unregulated substance, which troubles HealthNews associate editor Arthur Feinberg, MD. "The potential for irreversible side effects is real," he says. "So given that there's no convincing evidence for any benefit of DHEA, I feel strongly that people should not take it."
"No one should take DHEA except under the supervision of a physician, who should routinely check steroid and cholesterol levels, glucose tolerance, and prostate health in men," says John Nestle, MD, professor of endocrinology and metabolism at Virginia Commonwealth University, who studies DHEA's effects on diabetes and blood clotting.
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Eight men and eight women aged 50-65 took 100 mg of DHEA or a placebo for three months in Dr. Yen's latest study published last year in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. The study was devoted to DHEA and what it had to do with aging. Then immediately following the three month period on DHEA or a placebo, they took the opposite pill for another three months.
The levels of hormone in the participants bloodstream were a bit higher than typically found in young adults within two weeks of starting DHEA. Both sexes showed an increase in lean body mass and muscle strength, which also improved with the placebo however. Fat body mass decreased in men but increased a bit in women. Some chemical markers rose suggesting improvement in immune function, though the number of colds and other illnesses were not measured. Although advertisements for DHEA often claimed improved sex drive, an earlier study from Dr. Yen's group showed that three months of daily 50 mg doses of DHEA did not improve sex drive but did improve an overall sense of "well-being".
The levels of hormone in the participants bloodstream were a bit higher than typically found in young adults within two weeks of starting DHEA. Both sexes showed an increase in lean body mass and muscle strength, which also improved with the placebo however. Fat body mass decreased in men but increased a bit in women. Some chemical markers rose suggesting improvement in immune function, though the number of colds and other illnesses were not measured. Although advertisements for DHEA often claimed improved sex drive, an earlier study from Dr. Yen's group showed that three months of daily 50 mg doses of DHEA did not improve sex drive but did improve an overall sense of "well-being".
"The one thing you should tell your readers is that we know very little about DHEA. The hype is out of control, and I can't stress enough that it should be used with caution, if at all, until we know more," says Samuel Yen, MD, professor of reproductive medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
The News reports and advertisements took Dr. Yens three month investigative research and blew it into a plausible full blown human clinical trial thereby convincing people who read the articles that the hormone worked just as hoped.
These are actual results coming from respectable individuals who would love to find genuine proof of DHEA's positive health benefits just so they can pass them on to the public. If their research ends up promoting DHEA sales in the process...who's hurting from it, their conscious is clean.
When your in a position such as mine, it's very disheartening to hear people you believe the public should trust making such outrageous statements. For a new substance to be labeled as having the kinds of medical benefits they're claiming without any of the necessary definitive information as to whether or not it's even benign yet is outright dangerous. Medical professionals like Dr. Yen, Dr. Barrett-Connor, Dr. Nestle and Dr. Feinberg all have a genuine concern for people, that is the basis for their work, not generating sales of an unproven drug. It seems they all have a set of commendable values that need to be emulated by everyone within the health community.
The kind of information that is required before any promises can be made about a drugs specific health benefits doesn't fall into our lap after 6 measely months of researching lab rats, it takes years of carefully monitored studies before researchers will ask the FDA to even consider it safe for human trials. Then, and only if everything falls well within FDA's safe guidelines will the drug get a thumbs up for public mass production. This 'irrational hype' has caused senseless deaths over the years circumventing many other new drugs as well, all on account of the 'almighty dollar'. The manufacturers of DHEA are trying to persuade everyone there has been no solid proof that humans will suffer traumatic side-effects after long term use of DHEA supplements, but there are in fact studies that have actually shown proof to the contrary. In most cases problems with hormone use don't arise until years later. The medical community's answer to miscarriages for example was diethylstilbestrol (DES), yet women who took it were found to have higher incidents of breast cancer years later. These are not the kinds of conditons we want to duplicate.
Longer term clinical trials are a must in order to find out the truth about any short-term benefits, long-term benefits or side-effects attributed with the use of DHEA. DHEA is a far cry from being a daily regiment of Centrum Silver or Sponge Bob One-A-Day vitamins. It isn't that the FDA doesn't want the public to have access to a pill that could very well provide a safe over-the-counter health benefit, they just aren't sure what benefits it offers yet.
DHEA is receiving so much praise from the media and public opinion that it's causing those people who know better to disregard any warnings they may have read or heard about. In this day and age it's nothing short of foolish. This magical pill is being touted to help prevent cancer, lose weight, gain lean muscle mass, prevent or reverse heart disease, prevent Alzheimer's, live longer, and is a formidable opponent when waged against AIDS and other infectious diseases. Wow! Dr. Barret-Connor hit the nail right on the head when she compared this stuff to the snake-oil of the early twentieth century.
I recall the FDA telling companies to stop selling it about ten years ago when it was available as a prescription medication for weight-loss. The FDA reconsidered, did an about-face and reclassified it as a dietary supplement in 1994 making it available over the counter. They weren't anymore sure of what to do with it then, yet here we are wondering what to do with it now.
Summary of the Pros and Cons
There was some hype about what everyone thought was promising news from preliminary studies that started back in 1972-1974. In 1986 reports from these studies indicated that men with higher levels of DHEA in their bloodstream were less likely to die from heart disease. Last years analysis of these studies showed that men were only 15 % less likely to die from heart disease as a result of the higher levels of DHEA in their bloodstream. Something men have enough problems with as they age normally is the prostate gland --- it turns out DHEA supplementation seems to stimulate tumor growth in the prostate as well as enlarging it as a result of the higher levels of testosterone. Hardly worth breaking open a bottle of champagne over.
Even less disappointing then that news was the news pertaining to the same study showing that women with high levels of DHEA in thier bloodstream were at greater risk of dying from heart disease. Spirits picked up slightly after they reviewed last years detailed analysis...it showed no difference in death rates from heart disease with the high levels of DHEA in their bloodstream or without. Women who take DHEA sometimes grew hair on their face or body, and it has reduced the levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol.
Bottom Line
If humans responded to DHEA supplementation the same way lab rats do we would all have something to celebrate, but we don't. So far studies have shown DHEA does us more harm than good. Aside from the cost effectiveness of rats and mice only requiring 1/10,000 the DHEA we do, the little critters enjoy less atherosclerosis, less viral infections, better immune responses, less obesity, less diabetes and less cancers as a result of the stuff. So, until researchers can prove otherwise I'm afraid, DHEA is just a health gamble. If you know anyone taking DHEA supplements, pass this article on for them to read.
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