DHEA

Presentation by: Wei (Adelyn) Tsai
Reviewed by: Thia Hanania & Greg Hollenbeck
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) are neurosteroids. They are involved in many different neurological pathways that promote the generation and survival of neurons (Maninger et al., 2010). These neuroprotective effects make DHEA and DHEA-S the research focus on treatments for a number of neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including depression, schizophrenia, and dementia. DHEA has been extensively studied and is demonstrated to be useful for depression (Peixoto et al., 2014), while some studies also provided evidence for the efficacy of DHEA for schizophrenia (Strous et al., 2003) and dementia (Wolkowitz et al., 2003). With these emerging evidence, DHEA may be a useful brain supplement to improve brain health and functions.
Further studies:
1. DHEA/S ratio to other hormones as biomarkers for neurological/neuropsychiatric diseases
2. Assess the efficacy and establish guidelines for DHEA monotherapy or adjunctive therapy for neurological/neuropsychiatric diseases
3. Larger, longer clinical studies on dementia, schizophrenia, etc.