Page 11 - The DHEA Debate - Life Extensions Magazine

than high doses of synthetic estrogen and progestins (conventional HRT). The researchers
conclude:
“Our data support the hypothesis that DHEA treatment acts similarly to estrogen-
progestin replacement therapy on the GHRH-GH-IGF-1 axis. This suggests that DHEA is
more than a simple ‘antiaging product’; rather it should be considered an effective
hormonal replacement treatment.”121
One final note on women’s health is the ability of DHEA supplements to help balance estrogen
and progesterone.

Naysayer: How can that be? DHEA is not converted to progesterone.

Stephen Cherniske: Not directly, but DHEA can raise progesterone levels by inhibiting
conversion of pregnenalone to cortisol (via 17-hydroxyprogesterone).122 Thus, by any
measure, DHEA appears to be a valuable and safe hormone supplement for women and men.

Naysayer: Men don’t need progesterone.

Stephen Cherniske: Of course they do. And a study just published with men suffering from
fatigue and depression suggests that improvements in mood, energy, and libido derived from 25
to 50 mg of DHEA resulted from increased progesterone levels, not testosterone.18

Naysayer: There’s still no proof that DHEA is safe.

Stephen Cherniske: Yes, there is. You’ve been trying to persuade the public that safety data do
not exist, when there are adequate human clinical trials, including year-long studies with as
many as 300 volunteers. Listen to the conclusion of one of these studies published in the
Journal of Clinical Endo-crinology and Metabolism. This is a human study with a 25-mg/day
group and a 50-mg/day group:
“No accumulation of steroids was observed. No worrying transformation to androgen
and estrogen was recorded; indeed, the limited increased estradiol in aged women could
be predicted to be beneficial. These results suggested that daily oral administration of
DHEA (25/50 mg) is safe in elderly subjects. The 50-mg dose was chosen for a 1 yr,
double blind, placebo-controlled trial of daily oral administration of DHEA in 60- to 80-yr-
old individuals.”123
This was followed by an even larger, year-long evaluation. This landmark project, known as the
DHEAge study, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The
conclusion:

“No potentially harmful accumulation of DHEAS and active steroids was recorded . . . A
number of biological indices confirmed the lack of harmful consequences of this 50
mg/day DHEA administration over one year, also indicating that this kind of replacement
therapy normalized some effects of aging.”124

Naysayer: Well, what about the well-known side effects that DHEA produces in women?

Stephen Cherniske: Such as?

Naysayer: Oily skin, acne, and growth of facial hair.

Stephen Cherniske: Those are overdose effects, and to produce these effects, a woman would
have to take an excessive dose of DHEA for months. Importantly, these effects are obvious and
sequential.