DHEA Study: Antiaging Hormone A Bust

[Oswizle]

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(AP)


Fast Facts

An editorial published along with the study questioned the safety of DHEA and called for it to be classified as a drug, rather than a dietary supplement.
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(WebMD) For years, the steroid hormone DHEA has been marketed and sold over the counter as an antiaging supplement, but new research shows that elderly people who take it derive little benefit.

The study, led by researchers from the Mayo Clinic, is one of the largest and longest ever to examine DHEA's effect on key markers of aging, such as muscle strength and physical performance.

Older men and women who took the steroid hormone for two years showed no measurable improvements in areas including measurements of body fat, physical performance, insulin sensitivity, or quality of life compared with older people given a placebo.

The findings are published in the Oct. 19 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

"This research is pretty definitive," researcher K. Sreekumaran Nair, M.D., Ph.D., tells WebMD. "We found no evidence that DHEA has an antiaging effect."

Fountain of Youth?

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), is a hormone that can be converted by the body to the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen. Levels of DHEA are naturally very high among teens and young adults but begin to decrease by the early 30s. The typical 70-year-old has DHEA levels only about 20 percent as high as he or she had in the early 20s.

The thinking has been that restoring DHEA levels to those that naturally occur in younger adults may help slow the aging process and delay diseases of aging, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

There is some clinical evidence to back up this claim, including one study published in 2004, which showed reductions in abdominal fat and improvements in insulin sensitivity among older people who took DHEA for six months.

But that study was much smaller and shorter than the newly reported trial, which included 87 men and 57 women aged 60 or older treated with DHEA, low-dose testosterone, or placebo for two years.

DHEA was given at doses designed to restore hormone levels to those typical for men and women in their 20s. The men receiving low-dose testosterone were treated with 5 milligrams per day of the hormone.

Effects of DHEA Treatment

The researchers conclude that treatment with DHEA or low-dose testosterone did not bring out clinically relevant effects on most of the aging markers studied.

DHEA and testosterone did appear to have some positive effect on bone density, but the benefits were much smaller than those typically seen with the most effective bone-strengthening drugs, the Mayo researchers conclude.

"Taken together, our data provide no evidence that either DHEA or low-dose testosterone is an effective anti-aging hormone supplement and argue strongly against the use of these agents for this purpose," they write.

Same Data, Different Take

But a spokesman for the dietary supplement industry has a different take on the findings.

Andrew Shao, Ph.D., of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, says the two-year study confirms the safety of relatively high-dose DHEA in both men and women. No clinically significant side effects were reported among participants who took DHEA or low-dose testosterone.

"We are encouraged by those results, particularly because there is a need for safe bone builders in this age group," Shao says.

In an editorial published along with the study, Paul M. Stewart, M.D., of the UK's University of Birmingham, questioned the safety of DHEA and called for it to be classified as a drug, rather than a dietary supplement — which is not strictly regulated by the FDA.

"Appropriate regulation would dispel much of the quackery associated with this elusive hormone," he writes.

Aging and longevity researcher Peter Hornsby, Ph.D., agrees. The University of Texas Health Science Center professor of physiology tells WebMD that DHEA should never have been classified as a dietary supplement.

"There is no logical reason why a steroid hormone should be considered a supplement," he says. "Yo can't have it both ways. If this is a real steroid hormone, it should not be taken without a doctor's supervision, just like estrogen and testosterone."


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SOURCES: Nair, K.S. The New England Journal of Medicine, Oct. 19, 2006; vol 355: pp 1647-1659. K. Sreekumaran Nair, MD, PhD, division of endocrinology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Peter Hornsby, PhD, professor of physiology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. WebMD Medical News: "Hormone Protects Against Diseases of Aging." Andrew Shao, PhD, Council for Responsible Nutrition. Paul M. Stewart, MD, University of Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, England.




By Salynn Boyles
Reviewed by Louise Chang
Copyright 2006, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.

 

[yeahright]

Bummer.

 

[bioman]

Benefits are in the eye of the beholder I guess. My mom takes it and loves it...gives her energy and helps her mood.

 

[RedwolfWV]

DHEA no fountain of youth, tests show

Article can be found here: DHEA no fountain of youth, tests show - CNN.com


(AP) -- The fountain of youth apparently does not yet come in a pill.

Widely used DHEA supplements and testosterone patches failed to deliver their touted anti-aging benefits in one of the first rigorous studies to test such claims in older men and women.

The substances did not improve the participants' strength, their physical performance, or certain other measures of health.

"I don't think there's any case for administering these" to elderly people, said Dr. K. Sreekumaran Nair of the Mayo Clinic, lead author of the study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

DHEA, a steroid that is a precursor to the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen, is made by the body, but levels decline rapidly after age 25. DHEA supplements are marketed as rejuvenating agents, and U.S. sales hit $50 million last year.

Testosterone is available by prescription only. But the Food and Drug Administration classifies DHEA as a supplement, meaning it can be sold without meeting the same safety and effectiveness standards as a drug.

Some athletes use DHEA and testosterone to try to boost performance, often in violation of athletic association rules.

The NFL and other professional sports have banned DHEA. Cycling officials have moved to strip the Tour de France title from winner Floyd Landis, after a French laboratory found elevated testosterone levels in his urine.

Apart from this type of use, scientists have wondered whether the substances might help older people. Studies with rodents offered tantalizing results that showed DHEA seemed to decrease fat and fight diabetes and heart disease.

But there have been few rigorous scientific studies in humans. A French study of DHEA in 280 elderly people, reported in 2000, found the only benefit was an increase in female libido. A Dutch study this year found no benefit of DHEA in 100 men 70 and older.

The new study was done by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the University of Padua in Italy.

Over two years, the researchers studied 57 women and 87 men, all of them at least 60 years old. The women were given standard daily doses of DHEA or identical fake pills. The men were given real or fake DHEA, as well as a testosterone skin patch or a placebo patch.

Blood samples were taken every three months. Participants also were examined for any changes in body fat, hormone levels, bone density, and performance on treadmill, weightlifting and leg flexibility tests. The men and women also filled out questionnaires about how they felt and their quality of life.

Although DHEA and testosterone levels increased in the men and women who took the real treatments, there was no effect on physical performance, quality of life or the body's ability to lower levels of blood sugar.

The testosterone treatments led to a small but significant increase in the amount of body weight free of fat, but that did not correspond to any improvements in strength. DHEA had no such effects.

DHEA appeared to improve density in bones in the arm and neck, but not in the back and hip, Nair said. "That shows an inconsistent or minor effect," he said.

No harmful side effects were detected. That is good news, but it does not mean the supplements are altogether safe, said Simon Yeung, manager of the Web site on supplements and integrative medicine at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

In the study, testosterone was given in low doses. Higher levels might have more benefit, but doctors worry testosterone may also raise the risk of prostate cancer, Yeung said. As for DHEA, cancer specialists worry it may increase certain patients' risks of breast and prostate cancer, he said.

Dr. Paul Stewart of England's University of Birmingham said in an accompanying editorial that more research should be done on DHEA, and if it proves safe and effective, it should be regulated as a drug.

"Without a reversal of the current U.S. legislation, DHEA is likely to continue to be used inappropriately, and quackery will prevail," Stewart wrote.

Andrew Shao of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement trade organization, said DHEA should not be regulated as a drug because people do not use it to treat a specific illness.

A pharmaceutical designation does not guarantee safety, added Shao, referring to Vioxx and other FDA-approved drugs that had to pulled from the market.

 

[glg]

Low dosages....

How low?

What was the health condition of the patients prior to treatment?

To many issues in a study need to be defined prior to execution and the the results are only apllicable to that group.

Also depends on how you manipulate the statistics and 'chose' to interpret the findins.

Nice thing about 'sponsored' studies is someone else can get exactly the opposite findings running the same protocols.

 

[RedwolfWV]

Yep. I like how they snuck this totally irrellivent piece of info in there too:

Cycling officials have moved to strip the Tour de France title from winner Floyd Landis, after a French laboratory found elevated testosterone levels in his urine.

 

[glg]

Also they kind of contradicted themselves by putting in -

"Some athletes use DHEA and testosterone to try to boost performance, often in violation of athletic association rules."

If it is innefective why the ban?

you could say that multiple-Vitamins "improve performance"

 

[Popa Murph]

This is just anti supplement propaganda.

 

[meowmeow]

Here is a real study on testosterone therapy published in the most prestigious medical journal:

The Effects of Supraphysiologic Doses of Testosterone on Muscle Size and Strength in Normal Men (New England Journal of Medicine)

Complete study:View attachment The Effects of Supraphysiologic Doses of Testosterone on Muscle Size and Strength in Normal Men.doc

ABSTRACT

Methodology

We randomly assigned 43 normal men to one of four groups: placebo with no exercise, testosterone with no exercise, placebo plus exercise, and testosterone plus exercise. The men received injections of 600 mg of testosterone enanthate or placebo weekly for 10 weeks. The men in the exercise groups performed standardized weight-lifting exercises three times weekly. Before and after the treatment period, fat-free mass was determined by underwater weighing, muscle size was measured by magnetic resonance imaging, and the strength of the arms and legs was assessed by bench-press and squatting exercises, respectively.

Results

Among the men in the no-exercise groups, those given testosterone had greater increases than those given placebo in muscle size in their arms (mean [±SE] change in triceps area, 424±104 vs. -81±109 mm2; P<0.05) and legs (change in quadriceps area, 607±123 vs. -131±111 mm2; P<0.05) and greater increases in strength in the bench-press (9±4 vs. -1±1 kg, P<0.05) and squatting exercises (16±4 vs. 3±1 kg, P<0.05). The men assigned to testosterone and exercise had greater increases in fat-free mass (6.1±0.6 kg) and muscle size (triceps area, 501±104 mm2; quadriceps area, 1174±91 mm2) than those assigned to either no-exercise group, and greater increases in muscle strength (bench-press strength, 22±2 kg; squatting-exercise capacity, 38±4 kg) than either no-exercise group. Neither mood nor behavior was altered in any group.

Conclusions

Supraphysiologic doses of testosterone, especially when combined with strength training, increase fat-free mass and muscle size and strength in normal men.

 

[Jstrong20]

Lets see them put an 80 year old dude on 1 gram a week of test/75mgs ed tren and tell me he doesn't feel any younger.lol

 

[ryano]

Must have been low doses. The article does state that dhea is precursor to test and estro...which has already shown to have health benefits for older folks.

Article seems contradictory to me. Just another piece of useless info slapped together for some content.

 

[rotarnomore]

I read this article as well. Who funded the study?

 

[festus]

Worthless. I agree that these studies must have used low doses. I know DHEA works for me.
They seem to be saying DHEA doesn't work, but if it does you shouldn't be able to buy it w/o a prescription.
I agree with glg. They also try to tell us that steroids don't work. Okay, so if they don't, why prevent athletes from using them?

 

[fitnecise]

Must have been low doses. The article does state that dhea is precursor to test and estro...which has already shown to have health benefits for older folks.

Article seems contradictory to me. Just another piece of useless info slapped together for some content.

Agreed. They said right in the article it raised test levels in both men and women, and determined if it worked with other variables. Yahoo titled it "Anti-aging Supplements don't work." Nice generalization yahoo

I loled at the Landis addition as well. There is actually quite a bit of evidence of lab errors so he might get off the hook.

 

[bioman]

Yeah, they also don't say there were any negative health effects but they put in a word or two about banning it because we don't know what it will do and that's super scarey.

Didn't do anything bad..better ban it!

 

[FYI777]

IMHO there's a hidden agenda here to position themselves to greater profits whereby DHEA will be decreed "only available by perscription".Then just watch how the price of DHEA literally skyrockets. Unless we do something about it,instead of just sitting on our laurels.

 

[whitedevil74]

Everyone is Insane

Look why is it that bodybuilders and weightlifters are so quick to believe any supplement comapnies claims that their test booster will increase lean muscle mass by 10,000%, or heal thier joints or any other ridiculous claims these snakeoil salesmen are pushing. It is like we are eager to swallow their lies when they have absolutely no scientific studies to back up their claims at all. However, when a scientific study does come out asserting that a supplement is useless everyone is so quick to point out any flaw in the study, or just dismiss it outright. Seems like the reverse way of thinking should be more prevalent with our skepticism focusing on manufacturer's claims, rather than focusing our skeptisim on the few scientific studies that are conducted. I am skeptical of some studies when they appear biased, but come on, we swallow way more bs from supplement promoters everyday.

 

[ryano]

Anybody read this study?

 

[ryano]

Look why is it that bodybuilders and weightlifters are so quick to believe any supplement comapnies claims that their test booster will increase lean muscle mass by 10,000%, or heal thier joints or any other ridiculous claims these snakeoil salesmen are pushing. It is like we are eager to swallow their lies when they have absolutely no scientific studies to back up their claims at all. However, when a scientific study does come out asserting that a supplement is useless everyone is so quick to point out any flaw in the study, or just dismiss it outright. Seems like the reverse way of thinking should be more prevalent with our skepticism focusing on manufacturer's claims, rather than focusing our skeptisim on the few scientific studies that are conducted. I am skeptical of some studies when they appear biased, but come on, we swallow way more bs from supplement promoters everyday.

Good point. But to say that DHEA boosts test but has no antiaging effects? This article is bs.

 

[DragonRider]

Benefits are in the eye of the beholder I guess. My mom takes it and loves it...gives her energy and helps her mood.

The reason for that is that while it is supposed to convert to testosterone and estrogen, most studies show it only converts to estrogen.

 

[yeahright]

DHEA - MayoClinic.com