DHEA, The Youth and Health Hormone

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DHEA, The Youth and Health Hormone

_http://life-enthusiast.com/index/Education/Magnesium/Magnesium_and_DHEA_

(http://life-enthusiast.com/index/Education/Magnesium/Magnesium_and_DHEA)

 

Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA as it is more often called, is a steroid

hormone naturally produced in the adrenal gland. It is the most abundant

steroid

in the bloodstream and is present at even higher levels in brain tissue.

DHEA levels are known to fall precipitously with age, falling 90% from age 20

to

age 90.

 

 

DHEA is known to be a precursor to the numerous steroid sex hormones

(including estrogen and testosterone) which serve well-known functions.

DHEA and Cancer

Early reports from England [bulbrook, 1962, 1971] suggested that DHEA was

abnormally low in women who developed breast cancer, even as much as nine years

prior to the onset or diagnosis of the disease. Of the 5000 women followed

in the study, 27 developed cancer. Most of the 27 had abnormally low levels of

DHEA. Many years later, Dr. Arthur Schwartz of Temple University found that

supplemental DHEA significantly protected cell cultures from the toxicity of

carcinogens. Cell cultures usually respond to powerful carcinogens with

mutations (changes in DNA), transformations (changes in cell appearance), and a

high rate of cell death. But when Schwartz added DHEA along with the

carcinogen, all three of these effects were significantly diminished.

 

DHEA and Glucose Metabolism

Investigators have shown that DHEA inhibits glucose-6-phosphate

dehydrogenase (G6PDH), an enzyme that breaks down glucose. There are two

glucose-metabolizing pathways in the body, the catabolic, energy-yielding

pathway and the

anabolic, biosynthetic pathway. G6PDH happens to be the first enzyme in the

biosynthetic pathway, the one which results in the synthesis of fatty acids and

ribose (the sugar used in making deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA). In simple

language, G6PDH turns glucose into fat.

DHEA and Aging

The body?s production of DHEA drops from about 30 mg at age 20 to less than

6 mg per day at age 80. According to Dr. William Regelson of the Medical

College of Virginia, DHEA is ?one of the best biochemical bio-markers for

chronologic age.? In some people, DHEA levels decline 95% during their lifetime

?

the largest decline of an important biochemical yet documented.

DHEA levels are directly related to mortality (the probability of dying) in

humans. In a 12-year study of over 240 men aged 50 to 79 years, researchers

found that DHEA levels were inversely correlated with mortality, both from

heart disease and from all causes. This finding suggests that DHEA level

measurements can become a standard diagnostic predictor of disease, mortality

and

lifespan. Furthermore, if animal results hold true, supplemental DHEA may

prevent disease, reduce mortality, and extend lifespan in humans.

 

DHEA: The Buffering Steroid?

DHEA may be unique among hormones for it?s lack of specificity for hormone

receptor sites. Just as vitamin E has never been shown to have a specific

metabolic role (it is only proven essential as a general antioxidant), DHEA may

serve an equally general purpose. ?DHEA is the first example of a buffer

action for hormones that I know of,? states William Regelson. ?It is a

broad-acting hormone that only demonstrates itself under a specific set of

circumstances. In that way, it is like a buffer against sudden changes in

acidity or

alkalinity. That is why when you get older, you?re much more vulnerable to the

effects of stress. As DHEA declines with age, you are losing the buffer against

the stress-related hormones. It is the buffer action that [helps prevent] us

from aging.? The decrease of DHEA with age may result in gradual decline of a

system for suppressing enzyme systems responsible for creating the building

blocks of new cells, like lipids, nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) and sex

steroids. The resulting rise in enzymatic activity in advanced age may be

responsible for the proliferative events (cancer) and degenerative disease that

become

more frequent in advanced age. In this respect, DHEA might be best considered

to be an anti-hormone, which might ?de-excite? steroid-sensitive receptors

that would otherwise lead to enhanced metabolic activity.