Dehydroepiandrosterone is a steroid hormone, a chemical cousin of testosterone and estrogen.
Study reported in 2006 in Clin Endocrinol. shows that short-term treatment with DHEA increased platelet cGMP production, a marker of NO production, in healthy elderly subjects. This effect is coupled with a decrease in PAI-1 and LDL cholesterol levels as well as an increase in testosterone and E(2) levels. These findings, therefore, suggest that chronic DHEA supplementation would exert antiatherogenic effects, particularly in elderly subjects who display low circulating levels of this hormone.
Studies have shown that DHEA inhibits carcinogenesis in mammary gland and prostate as well as other organs, a process that is not hormone dependent (2006)
Although the analysis is limited by the short follow-up and small number of deaths, results are consistent with the notion that DHEAS level has a sizeable effect on mortality. (2006)
Pubmed | Vitamin