> : Some facts about DHEA.
> :
> : 1. Using experimental tests on rats, 14 out of 16 rats developed liver
> : cancer.
> :
> I presume this is from (Cancer Research 52: 2977-2979 1992), where 14 of
> 16 F-344 rats developed hepatocellular carcinomas. DHEA dosage was a
> megadose at 0.45% of chow.
> At a dosage of 0.06%, (which works out to about 30 mg for humans
> consuming 2000 calories of the chow), in old 29 month old C57BL mice after
> a month of such DHEA supplementation their mortality rate
> fell to zero, while control mice continued to die at an accelerating rate.
> (J Nutr Biochem 9: 362-369 1998)
> I think a warning against taking large doses of DHEA is in order here,
> but a blanket ban is not warrented. In particular replacement doses of
> DHEA to restore levels to young adult levels is strongly supported.
Additional note:
A second test of the effect of DHEA on C57BL mice was reported in the Gerontologist 37(Special Issue I): page 7 October 1997. No effect on mortality was noted, but no checking was done to see if DHEA serum levels in the mice were actually increased. Since the DHEA (sulfate) was administered in drinking water in this test, too much of it may have degraded for it to have any effect.