Background: Women suffer more often from depression than men. Social research suggests that high androgen levels cause aggressive behavior in men and women, and consequently cause depression. The purpose of this study was to determine serum levels of androgens, especially testosterone, in patients with depression. Material and methods: In this case-controlled study, we measured serum testoste...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether esterification of dehydroepiandrosterone with aspartate (DHEA-aspartate) could reduce peroxisomal proliferation induced by DHEA itself, without loss of antiosteoporotic activity. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized, then DHEA or DHEA-aspartate was administered intraperitoneally at 0.34 mmol/kg BW 3 times a week for 8 weeks. DHEA-aspa...

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester are the most abundant steroids in humans. DHEA levels fall with age in men and women, reaching values sometimes as low as 10%-20% of those encountered in young individuals. This age-related decrease suggests an "adrenopause" phenomenon. Studies point toward several potential roles of DHEA, mainly through its hormonal end products, making this ...

Adrenarche is the increased adrenal production of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) that occurs during the prepubertal period. To date, the exact mechanism initiating adrenarche is unknown, although many factors have been postulated. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that alterations in intra-adrenal expression of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydr...

A number of peripheral blood analytes have been proposed as potential biomarkers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Few studies have investigated whether observed changes in biomarkers persist over time. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of combat-related chronic PTSD with a wide array of putative PTSD biomarkers and to determine reliability of the measurements, i....

Although several studies have shown the inhibitory effects of Tropaeolum majus extracts (HETM) on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity, no studies have been carried out during the beginning of pregnancy, when humoral and hormonal imbalance may affect zygote and early embryo transport. This study investigates whether HETM can affect embryonic development when administered during the one-...

OBJECTIVES Humans-and several other apes-exhibit a unique pattern of post-natal adrenal maturation; however, the causes and consequences of variation in adrenal development are not well understood. In this study, we examine developmental and age-related maturation of the adrenal gland (measured via dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate [DHEA-S]) for potential life-history associations with growth and ...

BACKGROUND Isolated postchallenge diabetes (IPD), a subtype of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) defined as 2-h postprandial plasma glucose ≥ 200 mg/dL (≥ 11.1 mmol/L) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) <108 mg/dL (<6.0 mmol/L), is often overlooked during screening for diabetes on the basis of FPG concentrations. A key challenge is early identification of IPD by the use of fasting serum, which is c...

Dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate are en dogenous steroids largely produced in the adrenal cortex and excreted in the urine. Many studies have demonstrated that administration of dehy droepiandrosterone to animals protects against a variety of chemical carcinogens. Kpidemiological studies suggest that the circulating levels of these steroids in humans are related to the ...