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12/04/08
Another name for DHEA is Dehydroepiandrosterone. It also sometimes called Prasterone It is a natural steroid which is found in very small amounts among all human beings in the adrenal glands. The body converts it into estrogen and androgen. These two hormones affect the function of sexual development. When there are no enough adrenal steroids in the body, the resulting condition is called Addison’s disease.
DHEA is one of these adrenal steroids. The symptoms of Addison’s disease come out in the open very slowly and may manifest themselves in anemia, darkening of the skin, fatigue and drastic loss of weight. Replacement of DHEA in the Addison’s disease has always been a controversial issue. Some study findings have shown positive effects which include lessened fatigue and improvement in mood. However, some other studies have come up with no conclusive finding relating to any effects.
A study which was carried out last year came up with mixed results. For some of the participants, there was a noted increase in the mineral density in those participants who used DHEA. With regards to general fatigue and sexual functioning, there were no marked changes. This is not to say that a supplementation of DHEA can be accepted as the standard treatment for Addison’s disease. Adrenal insufficiency however has been assigned DHEA as its orphan drug which the US administration approved for use in very restricted cases. These cases include treating rare diseases.
Advancement in research involving DHEA has put emphasis on treatment of lupus erythematosus. This is an autoimmune condition which attacks the connective tissue. It is diagnosed with the help of arthritis and fever which may be accompanied with some spots which resemble rash and which attack the skin.
This condition can also attack the central nervous system and also the key organs such a s the heart and kidney are not spared this menace. Clinical trials are ongoing which if proved to be effective would be used to treat lupus erythematosus. It still remains to be established what the long-term effects of DHEA therapy are.
Natural production of DHEA goes down as an individual gets older. For this reason some influential researcher have bought the idea that if DHEA is restored to the highest levels, the effects that come with ageing may be reduced a study carried by a Japanese traced the reactions of participants for 27 years and they noted a correlate between high DHEA levels and the lengthened life for men only. This was most clearly depicted in the later years. Restoration of mental ability is another reason for the popularity of DHEA. As the immune system is improved through more use of DHEA, the brain also benefits from nourishment leading to alertness and avoidance of mental illnesses. Erectile dysfunction is also believed to have been effectively addressed by DHEA.
In almost all the studies, the benefits of using DHEA seem to accrue more to men than women. When the levels of DHEA are too low this has been seen to coincide with high occurrence of inflammatory conditions which are chronic in majority of the cases. DHEA may be lowered by increasing levels of blood sugar and a host of other conditions including the nonalcoholic liver disease.
