Why are we so afraid of aging? Here is an anxiety as old as humanity — if not even the founder of our species:do we not often say that what separates man from animal is our awareness of death? — and which has generated its share of fantasies and myths:from the philosopher's stone, the chimerical culmination of the alchemists' quest supposed, among other things, to prolong human life, to the transhumanists of our day, who speculate on a consciousness freed from its carcass of flesh and therefore potentially immortal, passing through Elisabeth Bathory and her supposedly rejuvenating virgin blood baths... there is no denying that the fear of aging excites the imagination and leads to more or less crazy undertakings.
Thus, at all times, more or less scrupulous industrialists (and certainly less crazy than the aforementioned figures) have sniffed out the opportunity and put on sale various and varied elixirs of youth. Nowadays, the hucksters of yesteryear have been replaced by arguably more conscientious scientists — but beware, not always necessarily less profit-driven, because such a product, if discovered and marketable, would undoubtedly make the fortune of the laboratories that would develop it! Different products with supposed anti-aging properties therefore regularly make the headlines. One of the latest is DHEA, the shorthand for dehydroepiandrosterone, an anabolic steroid hormone. Don't panic, we'll explain what's going on, and if it's really effective.
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a hormone. Like many other substances that can be synthesized in order to make supplements or medicines, this one is originally present naturally in the body, where its function is to contribute to the synthesis of sex hormones that are testosterone and estrogen and is therefore secreted in large quantities by our adrenal glands, whether we are a man or a woman. On the other hand, it is like testosterone considered a "male" hormone (called androgens), being however much less powerful than the latter. In the current state of our knowledge, this seems to be its only function:it would play no other physiological role.
However, this did not prevent it from being marketed in the 1990s in the form of food supplements, made from substances present in soybeans or yams and supposed to fight against the harmful effects of aging. It is also used in the treatment of lupus, when it occurs in its most benign forms, the symptoms of which sometimes resemble those of aging, such as hair loss, pain in the joints, or chronic fatigue. Its effects in this context are attested:DHEA restores balance to the immune system (lupus is an autoimmune disease) and therefore replaces cortisone-based treatments, which have certain side effects. In addition, DHEA is also well known to athletes who wish to gain muscle mass:indeed, it has anabolic effects, in sufficient quantity to have been placed on the list of doping products. But what about ageing:info or intox?
There are several reasons why DHEA has historically been associated with the idea of youthfulness. One of them is that, appearing in the body around the age of 6, its presence then declines over the years. It is produced in large quantities just before puberty, and reaches its peak presence in the blood around the twenties. The elderly therefore have less DHEA in the body than their younger counterparts:it is estimated that at the age of sixty, its presence in the blood would be around 10 to 20% of that which it represented around twenty years old. In addition, a low level of DHEA in the body is correlated with various pathologies, some of which are related to age, such as osteoporosis, atherosclerosis or dysfunctions of the libido. In short, from there to making it a rejuvenating hormone at the base of well-being therapy for seniors, there was only one step, which was taken in the 1990s, when it began to be marketed in the form of a food supplement by the pharmaceutical industry. It is then presented as a miracle solution, the drop in its level in the blood being accused of causing certain diseases and disorders related to age. Especially since some studies then seem to support this interpretation, the participants declaring to perceive an improvement in their feeling of well-being.
First of all, you should know that the supporters of DHEA have never claimed to make it a rejuvenating hormone, strictly speaking, but a well-being supplement for aging:aging in good health, rather than getting younger strictly speaking therefore. However, this is of course not how it is marketed:here comes the miracle hormone, ignite the manufacturers behind its success.
DHEA would therefore have rejuvenating effects on the condition of the skin, on the bones, which would increase in density, as well as on the libido, on which it would have a properly stimulating effect. At least that's what her supporters sing and the studies on the back of which she built her success.
In reality, from the beginning of the 2000s, these supposed rejuvenating virtues were severely questioned by various studies. It would seem that the only virtues of DHEA properly demonstrated are limited to a slowing down of bone loss and an improvement in the state of the libido as well as that of the skin, but only in women over 70 years old. In all the other subjects (younger women and men), no particular effect would have been attested. Other studies a little more lenient attest to some improvements in bone density among the subjects tested, men or women, but far too modest to have anything miraculous! This is enough to calm the ardor of the supporters of a so-called miracle youth hormone.
Also, some side effects have been observed following regular intake of DHEA. In addition to fatigue, stomach aches, high blood pressure and even diabetes, other inconveniences related to its "male" hormone status have become known. Thus, some return to adolescence with acne breakouts, while in women, we sometimes observe an increase in hair growth, or a voice that gradually becomes deeper. In short, like all hormones, DHEA has effects on the body as a whole, which should be kept in mind before administering it cheerfully! It is also all the more inadvisable for people who have had cancers - or have a family history linked to these cancers - sensitive to these hormones, which include cancers of the breast, ovaries, uterus, testicles and prostate. Likewise, pregnant or breastfeeding women and children should avoid it, and it should not be combined with hormone therapy for menopause, where it may lead to overdose.
For all these reasons, it is not marketed in France, where a prescription remains theoretically necessary to see it issued, although it has a somewhat special status, being officially neither prohibited nor authorized. The situation no longer seems set to change, following the many disappointments encountered by the former miracle hormone since the beginning of the 2000s. In short, to fight against the undesirable effects, you are probably not ready to be able to swallow at will small DHEA-based pills. This obsession is nevertheless very revealing of the change in perception around age and old age in our contemporary societies, which are no longer perceived as a fatality, but as a status likely to be optimized. While waiting for this miracle supplement, however, it is better to practice physical activity and eat healthy food... nothing more effective has yet been invented!
