[Clinical value of dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulfate ester]

The biological function of the since more than 5 decades discovered adrenal dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate we were studied since 1960. A renaissance of these steroids is talking about in last years. The knowledge of the metabolic features and biological effects of the hormone pair has been indispensable for internal, gynecologic and pediatric medicine, as well as for oncologists and immunologists. The present review summarizes our contemporary knowledge on the hormone pair in view of observations reported in the literature and made in our Institute. Recently, Professor Baulieu working in Paris, hypothesized that the supplementation of the gradual physiological decrease of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate during aging processes may delay the biological events of aging. This may result in an improvement of "the general state of health, brighter and more care-free declining years".