Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, is a steroid hormone, a chemical cousin of testosterone and estrogen. It is made from cholesterol by the adrenal glands, which sit atop each kidney. DHEA is known to be a precursor to the numerous steroid sex hormones (including estrogen and testosterone) which serve well-known refunctions, but the specific biological role of DHEA itself is not so well understood. Although the specific mechanisms of action for DHEA are only partially understood, supplemental DHEA has been shown to have anti-aging, anti-obesity and anti-cancer influences. In addition, it is known to stabilize nerve-cell growth and is being tested in Alzheimer’s patients. However, there is an interesting study called: "Scientific Verdict Still Out on DHEA" (Andrew Skolnick, JAMA, 11/6/96, p. 1365 ff). That title says a great deal about what we really know for certain about DHEA. Strides to understand it have been made in recent years.
The new rage is 3-acetyl-7-oxo-dehydroepiandrosterone, also called 7-oxo DHEA. Commercially known as 7-keto DHEA. The compound has passed toxicity tests, which looked at enzymes in the liver and blood
hormone levels, and shown itself to be completely innocuous. It mimics thyroid hormone, which causes the body to make more heat, thus burning more calories. An early clinical trial published in the Journal of Exercise Physiology Online looked at 30 obese people who took either a placebo or 7-KETO. Both groups took three one-hour sessions of aerobic and anaerobic exercise per week. At the end of the eight-week study, the 7-KETO group had lost 1.8 percent of body fat, compared to 0.57 percent among the placebo exercisers. Their overall
weight loss was 2.88 kilos, about three times the loss among those who took the placebo.
More compounds are yet to be discovered from DHEA.
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