MEDICATIONS: LOW DOSE DHEA PROVES EFFECTIVE IN TREATING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CONDITIONS OF HYPOPITUITARISM

Study Demonstrates Effects on Skin, Hair and Behavior

May 16, 2002 — Researchers in Sweden have shown that low doses of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are an effective addition to the conventional treatment of women who suffer from hypopituitarism, a condition in which the pituitary gland fails to secrete a variety of pituitary hormones into the circulation. Results of the study are published in the May issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

"DHEA was shown to improve both mental and physical conditions in the women," said Professor Anders Karlsson, chief investigator on the study and a researcher at the University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.

In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, performed at The University Hospitals in Gothenburg and Uppsala, Sweden, 38 hypopituitary women with severe androgen deficiency, aged 25 to 65, were treated with low, age-adjusted doses of DHEA. The trial was also followed by another six months of open treatment, at which time any of the study's participants could chose to be treated with DHEA. The researchers studied the physical and psychological effects of the treatment, including effects on skin, hair, body composition, glucose metabolism, lipoproteins, coagulation, quality of life and sexual interest/activity, and compared the results between the DHEA group, the placebo group and the open treatment.

Part of the study involved quality of life questionnaires for the women and their partners. According to the women's partners, the women who took DHEA showed increased initiative, stamina, alertness and sexual relations. During the open treatment period, all of the women being treated with DHEA showed an increase in sexual interest and activity.

Women in the study also experienced several physical changes from the DHEA treatments. These changes included alterations in the skin's oiliness, moisture and elasticity (53 percent); increased perspiration during physical activity (63 percent); increases in axillary and/or pubic hair (76 percent); and increased handgrip strength. The DHEA treatment did not show any effect on the women's bone turnover markers or in bone mineral density. A small and transient reduction in HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) concentration occurred.

"Overall, we found that DHEA had positive effects on the behavior of women with severe androgen deficiency," said Dr. Gudmundur Johannsson one of the authors on the study and a researcher at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. "The dosage of DHEA used in our study was the lowest ever reported and most of the women experienced the desired effect on hair and skin. Our findings suggest that DHEA may be an effective form of androgen replacement therapy for women with severe androgen deficiency due to hypopituitarism."

The researchers also note that this study supports the use of androgen replacement in androgen-deficient hypopituitary women who have impaired well-being, despite optimal replacement with other hormones, including growth hormone and estrogen. In addition, they point out that it is not clear which androgen and which formulation should be used for replacement in women. "In our experience," they write, "DHEA as a pro-hormone metabolized locally to more potent sex steroids, might offer an effective and convenient mode of replacement."

Автоматический перевод на русский язык

Читать другие статьи на эту тему