NEW YORK, Sep 29 (Reuters Health) -- For women who have underactive adrenal glands, treatment with the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) can improve their psychological well-being and sexual satisfaction, German researchers report.
Normally, levels of DHEA in the body peak when a person is 20 to 30 years old, and then begin to decline gradually. However, in people with underactive adrenal glands, levels of the hormone are low, even in their youth.
The precise function of the hormone is unclear, according to a team of researchers led by Dr. Wiebke Arlt, of the Medical University Hospital in Wuerzburg, Germany. Several studies have suggested, however, that elderly people who take DHEA supplements experience a number of benefits, including improved well-being, bone density and muscle strength.
Arlt and colleagues set out to see if treatment with DHEA would help women with underactive adrenal glands, since the condition increases the risk of depression, anxiety and sexual problems. In the study, Arlt's team randomly assigned 24 such women to receive 50 milligrams of DHEA each day or an inactive placebo pill for 4 months. After one month of not taking either DHEA or placebo, the women switched treatments for another 4 months, according to the report in the September 30th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Based on questionnaires completed by the women, the investigators report that DHEA replacement improved a number of signs of psychological well-being, including depression, anxiety, hostility, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. However, these improvements only showed up after 4 months of treatment.
DHEA also appeared to have a positive effect on the women's sexuality, according to the authors. While on the treatment, women reported having more frequent sexual thoughts and fantasies, greater interest in sex, as well as more sexual satisfaction, Arlt and colleagues note. Some of the improvement was gradual, however.
The side effects of treatment were minor for the most part, with several women reporting greasy skin, acne and increased body hair while taking DHEA. One woman did begin to lose her hair, but the hair loss stopped when she started taking DHEA only on every other day.
"We found that dehydroepiandrosterone-replacement therapy resulted in a significant improvement in well-being and sexuality in women with adrenal insufficiency," Arlt and colleagues write. Based on the findings, they recommend that DHEA should be added to the regimen of other hormones that women with the condition already take. They also write that similar research should be conducted in men to see if they will benefit from DHEA replacement as well.
The findings "mark a new phase of replacement therapy for patients with adrenal insufficiency," Dr. Wolfgang Oelkers, of Klinikum Benjamin Franklin in Berlin, writes in an accompanying editorial.
Oelkers agrees that a daily dose of DHEA should be considered for people with underactive adrenal glands, although he notes that they should be monitored to make sure they do not develop breast or prostate cancer.
