I know I've read about DHEA as a smart drug. Google gives me:
Clinical paper reviewing mood-boosting properties. Not terribly conclusive, and not really current any more.
scholar.google.com is more useful, first rendering this definition:
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated metabolite DHEA-S are endogenous hormones secreted by the adrenal cortex in response to adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH). Much has been published regarding potential effects on various systems. Despite the identification of DHEA and DHEA-S more than 50 years ago, there is still considerable controversy as to their biological significance.
It's from 1999, so even less current, but we've got "endogenous hormone" which is nice to know -- that means it's a hormone naturally created by the body.
Endocrinologists thought it might be a Fountain of Youth! In the mid-90s, at least. I don't know why I can't find anything more current than 2000, though. The research all seems to be based on the discovery that DHEA levels drop as we get older.
This year-long study found:
a small increase of testosterone and estradiol was noted, particularly in women... Bone turnover improved selectively in women >70 years old... .A significant increase in most libido parameters was also found in these older women. Improvement of the skin status was observed, particularly in women.... A number of biological indices confirmed the lack of harmful consequences of this 50 mg/day DHEA administration over one year, also indicating that this kind of replacement therapy normalized some effects of aging, but does not create "supermen/women" (doping).
So. It didn't seem to have a very marked effect on the men in that study group (of 280). |
