Even Low-Dose DHEA Therapy Has Adverse Effects

The new fad hormone at health food stores, touted for its "anti-aging" properties, is dehdroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Because endogenous DHEA and DHEAS decline with age, many investigators are considering prescribing it along with estrogen to ameliorate insulin resistance, obesity, osteoporosis, and immunosenescence. These investigators randomized 13 postmenopausal women to either DHEA or placebo and measured hormone levels, lipoproteins, and insulin-like growth factors (IGF) over six months. The women took only 25 mg of DHEA, a dose less likely to produce hepatic side effects than larger doses.

Researchers found an initial increase in serum DHEA concentrations, but the levels normalized after six months. Similarly, serum testosterone and DHEA…