[Dehydroepiandrosterone, "the youth hormone", in the light of recent findings]

A number of beneficial effects consisting in suppression or at least diminishing of degenerative changes associated with aging is ascribed to dehydroepiandrosterone (3 beta-hydroxy-5-androsten-17-one, DHEA) and its sulfate (DHEAS), in spite of the fact that it does not act as other hormonal steroids through its specific intracellular receptors. The typical feature of DHEA is the decline of its levels with age. Apart from the fact that DHEA functions as a precursor of biologically active androgens and estrogens, the beneficial effects associated with this steroid may be characterized as anticancerogenic, antisclerotic, antidiabetic, antiobese and immunostimulatory or immunoprotective ones. A specific chapter represent its effects in brain, where DHEA acts as one of neurosteroids in a non-genomic way. In this mini-review we have focused especially on immunostimulatory and immunoprotective effects of DHEA(S), many of which but not all, may be explained by antiglucocorticoid effects of DHEA at various levels. We have attempted to outline at which sites and levels DHEA may act in the ligh of recent knowledge on the mechanism of glucocorticoid action. Finally, the results of the recent studies are surveyed, indicating that not only DHEA itself, but some of its metabolites, namely its 7-hydroxylated derivatives, may act as locally active antiglucocorticoids.