DHEA Supplements Don't Help Alzheimer's
Hormone Has No Effect on Alzheimer's Disease
April 7, 2003 -- A popular dietary supplement touted as having anti-aging effects has no effect on Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study. Researchers found DHEA supplements did not improve mental performance or lessen overall disease severity after six months of treatment.
DHEA, dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone produced normally by the adrenal glands, but the exact function of DHEA in the body isn't clear. DHEA supplements are made from plant chemicals.
Recent interest in DHEA supplements was stimulated by findings that levels of the hormone peak between the ages of 20 and 30 and then decrease steadily with age. In addition, some animal studies showed that giving DHEA supplements to older mice improved their memory.
Some preliminary studies in humans have also suggested that DHEA supplements might have some beneficial effects on mood, energy, and sense of well-being in people with mental disorders. But others have shown no effect.
In this study, researchers compared the effects of 100 mg per day of DHEA supplements with placebo in 58 people with Alzheimer's disease who were not taking other drugs that affect mental function. Researchers say it's the first such study in which neither the patients nor the researchers knew if people were taking the DHEA supplements or a placebo.
The participants were tested for thinking and memory functioning at the start and throughout the study. Doctors and caregivers also evaluated any changes in the overall severity of disease during the study.
After three months of treatment, researchers found a small but insignificant benefit of DHEA supplements on thinking and memory. Among the 33 patients that completed the study, no major differences in performance or disease severity were found after six months of treatment.
The results appear in the April 8 issue of Neurology.
Researcher Owen Wolkowitz, MD, of the University of California at San Francisco, and colleagues, say the fact that patients were unable to take other drugs commonly used to treat Alzheimer's disease may have contributed to the high number of participants who dropped out of the study. They say future studies should look at the effect of DHEA supplements when taken in combination with standard Alzheimer's disease treatments.
DHEA Supplements Don't Help Alzheimer's
Hormone Has No Effect on Alzheimer's Disease
April 7, 2003 -- A popular dietary supplement touted as having anti-aging effects has no effect on Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study. Researchers found DHEA supplements did not improve mental performance or lessen overall disease severity after six months of treatment.
DHEA, dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone produced normally by the adrenal glands, but the exact function of DHEA in the body isn't clear. DHEA supplements are made from plant chemicals.
Recent interest in DHEA supplements was stimulated by findings that levels of the hormone peak between the ages of 20 and 30 and then decrease steadily with age. In addition, some animal studies showed that giving DHEA supplements to older mice improved their memory.
Some preliminary studies in humans have also suggested that DHEA supplements might have some beneficial effects on mood, energy, and sense of well-being in people with mental disorders. But others have shown no effect.
In this study, researchers compared the effects of 100 mg per day of DHEA supplements with placebo in 58 people with Alzheimer's disease who were not taking other drugs that affect mental function. Researchers say it's the first such study in which neither the patients nor the researchers knew if people were taking the DHEA supplements or a placebo.
The participants were tested for thinking and memory functioning at the start and throughout the study. Doctors and caregivers also evaluated any changes in the overall severity of disease during the study.
After three months of treatment, researchers found a small but insignificant benefit of DHEA supplements on thinking and memory. Among the 33 patients that completed the study, no major differences in performance or disease severity were found after six months of treatment.
The results appear in the April 8 issue of Neurology.
Researcher Owen Wolkowitz, MD, of the University of California at San Francisco, and colleagues, say the fact that patients were unable to take other drugs commonly used to treat Alzheimer's disease may have contributed to the high number of participants who dropped out of the study. They say future studies should look at the effect of DHEA supplements when taken in combination with standard Alzheimer's disease treatments.