Dehydroepiandrosterone reduces serum low
density lipoprotein levels and body fat but does not
alter insulin sensitivity in normal men.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1988 Jan;66(1):57-61
Nestler JE, Barlascini CO, Clore JN, Blackard WG
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298.
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To assess the effects of
dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on body fat mass, serum lipid levels, and tissue sensitivity
to insulin, five normal men were given placebo and five normal men were given oral DHEA
[1600 mg/day (554.7 mmol/day)] for 28 days in a randomized, double blind study.
In the DHEA group serum
DHEA-S levels rose 2.5- to 3.5-fold, and mean (+/- SEM) serum androstenedione rose from
4.3 +/- 0.6 to 8.6 +/- 1.2 nmol/L (P less than 0.004, by paired t test), but serum total
testosterone, free testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, estradiol, and estrone
levels did not change.
In the DHEA group the mean percent body fat decreased by 31%, with no
change in weight. This suggests that the reduction in fat mass was coupled with an
increase in muscle mass.
DHEA administration also resulted in a fall in mean serum total cholesterol
concentration (4.82 +/- 0.21 vs. 4.48 +/- 0.29 nmol/L; P less than 0.05), which was
due almost entirely to a fall of 7.5% in mean serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol
(3.21 +/- 0.11 vs. 2.97 +/- 0.14 nmol/L; P less than 0.01). No changes in anthropometric
parameters or serum lipid levels occurred in the placebo group. Tissue sensitivity to
insulin, assessed by the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp technique, did not change in
either the placebo or DHEA groups.
These results suggest that in normal men DHEA administration reduces
body fat, increases muscle mass, and reduces serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol
levels. Tissue sensitivity to insulin was unaffected by short term DHEA
administration.
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