Page 17 - The DHEA Debate - Life Extensions Magazine

5. Low levels of DHEA are also associated with increased mor- tality in a number of disease
states, and one study found low DHEA to be associated with increased risk for death from all
causes.23
6. One’s production of DHEA can be reliably determined by mea- suring DHEA sulfate in serum
or by measuring DHEA metabolites in a urine sample (the Anabolic/Catabolic Index, or ACI).
This test has been awarded a US patent, the methodology paper was pub- lished in the
Journal of Chromatography, and the age correlation study was published in the international
journal Spectroscopy.159-161 The ACI test provides a snapshot view of anabolic drive and is
a valid aging biomarker.
7. As opposed to what is “normal” in the aging population, leading endocrinologists believe that
optimal restoration of anabolic drive (true anti-aging) will be achieved by maintaining DHEA at
the level of a healthy 30-year-old.124
8. DHEA is readily absorbed from an oral dose.
9. Most human studies have used a 50 mg/day dose (the high end of the physiologic dose
range), although clinically significant benefits can be achieved with doses as low as 10 mg
per day.
10. There is no evidence—clinical or experimental—that associates physiologic dose DHEA
supplementation with any untoward effects, save the well- known production of oily skin and
acne in a small percentage of women.

My final comment relates to your assumption that declining levels of
DHEA are a natural and necessary part of the aging process. This is
pure speculation. Far more compelling is research showing that
declining DHEA production results from progressive atherosclerosis,
which reduces oxygen and glucose delivery to the area of the adrenals
(the zona reticularis) where DHEA is synthesized.37 We certainly
understand the consequences of decreased blood supply to the heart
and brain (heart attacks and stroke). Since the blood vessels leading to
these organs are a great deal larger (and less convoluted) than those
leading to the adrenals, it is not hard to see how age-related arterial
blockage and stiffening can affect the production of DHEA. Thus, far
from being a “natural” part of the aging process, declining DHEA
synthesis appears to be an unrecognized aspect of cardiovascular
pathology.