DHEA and Sexual Performance

"DHEA had a major effect on my sexual performance"

Howard Wasserman of Los Angeles read about DHEA last year and, at age sixty-eight, figured it was worth a try. "If I could do anything to retard the aging process, I'd be very happy to do it," he says. Although Wasserman has high energy levels, he was feeling the inevitable effects of aging. He had also had three back surgeries since the late 1980's. So a physician prescribed DHEA for him--he takes 50 mg a day--and he's found that he copes better with various day-to-day stresses. "It has not had any effect on my libido, but it did have a major effect on my [sexual] performance," Wasserman says. "It's like I'm thirty-five years old." Taking supplements, his blood levels of DHEA are comparable to those of a young man. Wasserman gets a PSA test every six months to assess his risk of prostate cancer, and the tests have shown that he's at very low risk for prostate cancer. Wasserman feels that the DHAE has helped speed his recovery from the third back surgery. "If you saw how I hop and jump around, you would never believe I've had three back surgeries," he says.

HealthFacts, Nov 1996 

Youth serums: what works, what won't

• DHEA, MELATONIN, HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE
• CAN YOU REALLY BUY TIME IN A BOTTLE?
• SOME RESEARCHERS THINK SO. OTHERS AREN'T CONVINCED. ONE THING THEY ALL AGREE ON: A FEW SAFE, ALL-NATURAL STEPS MAKE A LONG, HEALTHY LIFE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

Justine Cox had a long list of reasons to try DHEA. "I'd been exhausted and depressed for four months," recalls the 50-year-old Manchester, NH, artist, "and I couldn't remember anything." But perhaps the most important reason: "I'm definitely into living longer," she says. "I take estrogen, and I've been taking antioxidant vitamins for 30 years." A newspaper article on DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), a natural steroid hormone, told her that lab rats given the substance lived 50% longer than normal. So last year she tried it. "I felt phenomenal," she says. "I took one pill, and it was like being born again. I thought, 'I've found the fountain of youth.'" Two months later, Cox noticed a few dark hairs had sprouted on her chin. "I said, 'All right, I can deal with this,'" she recalls. But when her voice turned low and husky, the DHEA went into the wastebasket. Only later did she learn that one of the substance's side effects is masculinization. "I'm through experimenting with hormones," she says. Cox's story is a perfect illustration of the dilemma for women who seek to slow aging through the wonders of pharmacology:

When it comes to claims made for antiaging potions, which can you trust?

There are any number of supposed miracle substances for sale in health food stores and drugstores, all promising to extend life and restore lost youth. Women live longer than men on average, but they're still intensely curious about longevity, and ready to put their money where their curiosity is. Last year alone, sales for one celebrated "antiaging" hormone, melatonin, reached almost $350 million. But a quick look at some of the best-sellers reveals that many have raised hopes only to dash - or severely dent - them later.

The good news is that even as these substances are losing some of their appeal, a fresh group of antiagers is showing promise in the lab. The Bottom Line About HGH, Melatonin and DHEA.

Among the first and best publicized of the so-called antiaging substances was human growth hormone. In 1990 researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Madison published a groundbreaking study showing that older men given injections of HGH lost fat, built muscle and developed more youthful skin. Since then, clinics worldwide have courted customers with the hormone's supposed benefits.

There's just one catch: Several studies published after the Wisconsin one showed subjects derived little or no antiaging benefit from HGH. "It's not yet proven to have anything to do with longevity," says Mary Lee Vance, M.D., an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville. "It can cause a slight gain in lean muscle mass and a slight loss of fat, but so can going to Gold's Gym regularly."

Even as the HGH hype was reaching its apex, another darling of the longevity set came on the scene. Melatonin, a hormone produced by the brain's pineal gland, has been celebrated in a dozen books, including the best-selling Melatonin Miracle. But its antiaging claims were based on studies in mice, whose bodies don't even produce melatonin naturally, notes Richard Wurtman, M.D., a distinguished professor of neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. "Nobody, but nobody in the scientific community believes those studies," he says.

And even if somebody does believe them, no one knows if taking melatonin on a regular, long-term basis might produce dangerous side effects. The bottom line? "There are no acceptable data showing that melatonin has antiaging properties," says Dr. Wurtman. Although the opinions of experts like Dr. Wurtman haven't put the brakes on the melatonin craze, life-extension buffs already have their eye on a new candidate: DHEA, the hormone Cox took. DHEA has been touted as an antiager, and it is, but so far only in rats. Supplements of real DHEA (not the yam-based extracts sold in health food stores) may help build muscle, boost energy, stimulate the immune system, improve sleep and fight stress. Still, many experts worry about the dearth of long-term studies. Then there are the side effects: Besides those Cox reported, the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, MD, is concerned about liver damage and an increased risk of breast cancer in women who take high dosages. The NIA recently launched a campaign warning consumers of the dangers of DHEA, HGH and melatonin (for a free fact sheet, call 800-222-2225). Looking Good in the Lab: Antioxidants, Nitrones and Kinetin So there's less-than-good news about three of the best-known anti-aging products. But if you're looking for life extension in a pill, you needn't despair. Several classes of substances under intense scientific scrutiny may help women live longer, healthier lives.

As a start, you might want to give antioxidant vitamins a try. No one knows whether antioxidants (substances that fight damaging free radical molecules) can extend human life. But there is growing evidence that some antioxidants - especially vitamins C and E, but also beta-carotene and selenium - can stimulate the immune system and help ward off heart disease. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables will supply most of your antioxidant needs. A possible exception is vitamin E: Many experts recommend daily supplements of 200 to 800 international units. Bruce Ames, Ph.D., a professor of biochemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, advises caution for antioxidant fans. "Eat your fruits and veggies," he says. "Take supplements as an insurance policy, but not in large doses."

Perhaps the most prominent and proven anti-aging substance is the female hormone estrogen. A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association last April showed that taking estrogen after menopause increased the life expectancy of most women (even those at risk of breast cancer) up to 41 months. Then there's good old-fashioned exercise, both aerobic and muscle building. In research done on men, exercise has already been shown to prolong life by about two years. Although there's a great deal of controversy concerning how much is enough, virtually everyone agrees that sedentary women benefit greatly from taking up even modest exercise such as walking or gardening.

American Health For Women, July-August 1997. Science writer Bill Lawren is coauthor of The Zone.