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A review of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

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Abstract

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is quantitatively the most abundant hormone in humans and mammals, with a wide variety of physiological effects, including major regulatory effects upon the immune system. Two of the most striking aspects of DHEA are a steady decline in DHEA with age and a significant deficiency in DHEA in patients with several major diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The hormone is secreted in a non-sulfated (DHEA) and sulfated form (DHEA-S). The two are apparently interchangeable, and it appears likely that its physiological effects are achieved by derivative molecules that have yet to be identified.

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  1. The Shealy Institute, 1328 East Evergreen, 65803, Springfield, MO

    C. Norman Shealy M.D., Ph.D.

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Shealy, C.N. A review of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science 30, 308–313 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02691603

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