Aging is accompanied by a continuous decline of the adrenal steroid hormone DHEA and its ester DHEAS. Results from studies in rodents have demonstrated that DHEA(S) administration can enhance memory in several test paradigms. However studies from this laboratory did not find positive effects of DHEA treatment on cognitive performance in young and elderly humans. With respect to a possible mecha...

In view of the present controversy related to the potential beneficial effects of clinical dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) treatments, and considering our own previous results that reveal an influence of this steroid in pituitary hyperplasia development in vivo in rats, we decided to evaluate the role of DHEA in prolactin and GH secretion, as well as in second messengers involved, in cultured rat...

This study was undertaken to assess the effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) administration and exercise training on muscular DHEA and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels and hyperglycemia in diet-induced obese and hyperglycemic rats. After 14 wk of a high-sucrose diet, obese male Wistar rats were assigned randomly to one of three 6-wk regimens: control, DHEA treatment, or exercise training...

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has been shown to modulate glucose utilization in humans and animals, but the mechanisms of DHEA action have not been clarified. We show that DHEA induces a dose- and time-dependent increase in glucose transport rates in both 3T3-L1 and human adipocytes with maximal effects at 2 h. Exposure of adipocytes to DHEA does not result in changes of total GLUT4 and GLUT1 p...

The concentration of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) in human plasma is higher than any other steroid. Recent evidence has suggested an inverse relationship between plasma DHEA levels and the development of coronary atherosclerosis in humans. We used the cholesterol-fed rabbit model to investigate whether DHEA feeding would diminish aortic fatty streak formation in this model. Fifteen N...

BACKGROUND Aldosterone is produced not only in the adrenal gland but also in the extra-adrenal tissues, including failing human heart. This study examined the production of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in human heart and elucidated the possible physiological significance. Method and Results- Using left ventricular tissues obtained at autopsy, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction fol...

PURPOSE The aim of the study was evaluation of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) serum concentration in elderly women and determining interdependence between DHEA-S levels and occurrence of diseases typical for this period of life. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted on 103 elderly women (mean age 70.7 +/- 7.3 years). The control group consisted of 25 young and healthy women (...

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA; 50 and 25 mg) and placebo tablets were orally administered daily to 24 healthy aging men and women (67.8 +/- 4.3 yr) for 8 days according to a balanced incomplete block design. Nine blood tests on both the first and eighth days allowed the measurement of DHEA, its sulfate DHEAS, and metabolites: testosterone, 5alpha-androstan-3alpha,17beta-diol glucuronide, estradi...

The interest in supplementation with testosterone precursors rose to new levels after Mark McGwire disclosed the use of androstenedione (and creatine) during his quest to overtake the 37-year-old home run record of Roger Maris. Banned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the International Olympic Committee (USOC), and the National Football League, androstenedione, an immediat...

The gonadal hormone testosterone (T) regulates aggression across a wide range of vertebrate species. Recent evidence suggests that the adrenal prohormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) may also play an important role in regulating aggression. DHEA can be converted into active sex steroids, such as T and estradiol (E(2)), within the brain. Previous studies show that circulating DHEA levels displa...