|
Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
|
|
||||||||
13.07.2009 |
|
|
Fifty milligrams of DHEA a day has anabolic effect in women
Give older women 50 milligrams a day of the prohormone dehydroepiandrosterone (known as DHEAS), and their levels of hormones such as estradiol, testosterone and IGF-1 rise noticeably. Researchers at Washington University discovered that women's bones became stronger as a result of the supplement, whereas the effect of the prohormone was less noticeable in men.
The researchers published the results of a trial they did with 113 men and women aged between 65 and 75 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study was intended to find out whether DHEA is an effective way of fighting osteoporosis in the elderly. To get round any effects of bad nutrition, all participants, regardless of whether they got a placebo or DHEA, were given a daily supplement containing 640 units of vitamin D and 700 milligrams of calcium.
For the first year of the study the researchers worked with a placebo group and a DHEA group. The figure below shows the effect of the supplement on the DHEA level of the test subjects during this period. In the second year the test subjects in the placebo group were also given DHEA.
In men and women the DHEA level increased by about the same amount. But in the men the hormonal effects were confined to a small rise in testosterone and estradiol levels.
The endocrinological effects in the women were more significant. Their free estradiol level doubled, their IGF-1 concentration increased considerably and their free testosterone levels almost tripled.
The total bone mass of the DHEA group women did increase, but the effect was small and not statistically significant. What was significant was the effect on the bone density in the vertebrae. In the men, this effect was absent.
DHEA would seem to be a mild way of preventing osteoporosis in women. The researchers don't have much faith in the idea, however. They say that the mix of vitamin D and calcium that they gave to all the test subjects probably had more effect than the prohormone. On top of that, the researchers are not convinced of the safety of DHEA.
"Because DHEA supplementation resulted in small but significant increases in circulating concentrations of estrogen, testosterone, and IGF-1—all of which may promote tumorigenesis—individuals taking DHEA supplements long term may need to be monitored regularly for hormone-sensitive cancer", they write. They did this with their test subjects as well.
We think the study is interesting though, because of the hormonal effects that were measured. Granted, the DHEA perhaps didn't do much with bone mass, but surely the DHEA does something to women's muscles, certainly if the women were to do training as well.
Source:
|
|
