BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate (DHEAS) may function as neurotrophic or neuroprotective factors to protect central nervous system (CNS) neurons against a variety of insults, including excitotoxicity. The present study evaluated the pharmacological effects of DHEAS in a reversible spinal cord ischemia model. METHODS DHEAS was administered (50 mg/kg IV) 5 o...

AZT (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine; zidovudine), which is used for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1, is transplacentally transferred to the fetus across the blood-placenta barrier, which is composed of syncytiotrophoblasts. We recently showed that apical uptake of AZT by syncytiotrophoblasts is mediated by saturable transport system(s) in the TR-TBT 18d-1 cell line, and the ...

Background: In low-birth-weight girls, obesity increases the risk of premature adrenarche and metabolic complications. However, the consistency of this association in normal-birth-weight children and its potential mediators remain unknown. Objectives: The objectives were to assess the associations between obesity indicators and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) at 7 y of age and to evaluat...

BACKGROUND It has been suggested that the reduced production of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) may be partially responsible for the decline of muscle strength and mass that often occurs with aging. However, this hypothesis has been only tested in small series of normal volunteers, with little consideration for potential confounders. Using data from a representative sample of 558 men (20...

The present study investigated the efflux transport systems of organic anions across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) using dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) as a probe. The elimination of DHEAS from the brain after microinjection into the cerebral cortex was characterized in wild-type mice and mice with deficiency of well characterized organic anion transporters, organic anion-transporting p...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of either a 7-day fast or a 7-day ketogenic diet upon serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) in RA patients. METHODS We measured serum concentrations of DHEAS and IL-6 in 23 RA patients with active disease, 10 of whom followed a 7-day sub-total fast and 13 of whom consumed a ketogenic diet (isoenergetic, carbohydrate < 40 g/...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the 24 h profile of androgenemia related to the androgens of both the ovarian and adrenal origin in obese women with menstrual disturbances. METHODS: The association of body mass and body fat distribution with circadian variations of selected androgens of ovarian and adrenal origin was examined in 16 obese women with menstrual disturbances (BMI between 38 and 51 kg/m2; WHR ...

The biological mechanisms underlying castration resistance of prostate cancer are not fully understood. In the present study, we examined the role of organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) as importers of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) into cells to support growth under androgen-depleted conditions. Cell growth and mRNA expression of OATP genes were studied in human prostate ca...

Background Previous reports have noted that dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) increases prior to the final menstrual period (FMP) and remains stable beyond the FMP. How DHEAS concentrations correspond with other sex hormones across the menopausal transition (MT) including androstenedione (A4), testosterone (T), estrone (E1), and estradiol (E2) is not known. Our objective was to examine how...

Antiatherogenic properties of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) have been postulated for >40 years. Large-scale epidemiological studies on this important issue, however, are still sparse, and those available have yielded contradictory results. The Bruneck Study involved a large random sample of men and women aged 40 to 79 years that were enrolled in 1990 and reevaluated 5 years later. Baseline DHEA...