Popular anti-aging supplement has no beneficial effects, Mayo Clinic
study finds
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A widely used anti-aging supplement has no
effect on aging markers such as muscle strength, peak endurance,
muscle mass, fat mass and glucose tolerance in elderly men and
women, according to Mayo Clinic researchers. The findings from their
two-year study appear in the Oct. 19 issue of the New England
Journal of Medicine.
The findings serve to dispel the belief that
dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), sold extensively as an
antiaging supplement in health and grocery stores, can
reverse age-related alterations in body composition and
function, says the study's lead author K. Sreekumaran Nair,
M.D., Mayo Clinic endocrinologist.
"For almost two years we restored DHEA in older men and women to the
high normal levels that are usually observed in young people, but
found no beneficial effects on age-related changes in body
composition and function," Dr. Nair says. "No beneficial effects on
quality of life were observed. There's no evidence based on this
study that DHEA has an antiaging effect."
The double blind study involved 87 men and 57 women who were
followed for two years. Participants showed no change in several
markers of aging -- body composition, physical performance, insulin
sensitivity or quality of life.
Mayo Clinic's findings contradict some of the previous reports on
DHEA. Dr. Nair says many former studies were done over shorter
periods of time and didn't involve a large enough group of subjects.
Mayo's study also was strengthened because it was a double blind,
placebo-controlled, randomized trial. DHEA was administered only to
people with low DHEA and testosterone levels.
Dr. Nair calls DHEA use a controversial issue, as antiaging
supplements drive sales in the health food industry. He advises
elderly people to stop using DHEA because it is unlikely to offer
any antiaging effect.
DHEA has been promoted as an antiaging supplement, say the study's
authors, in part because high levels of DHEA have been associated
with longevity in humans and nonhuman primates. But studies
involving rodents aren't applicable to humans, as rodents have very
low levels of DHEA, the authors say.
The study also involved administering low-dose testosterone to
elderly men who had low testosterone. The authors found testosterone
offered minimal beneficial effects on bone density, and far less
than those offered by many current accepted therapies. Investigators
found no negative side effects, although they caution that the study
was conducted only in men without prostate problems.
The New England Journal of Medicine published an accompanying
editorial to Mayo's study, with Paul Stewart, M.D., of the
University of Birmingham, Ala., saying the search for eternal youth
will continue. But in light of the Mayo findings, he suggests DHEA
should no longer be accepted as a food supplement and should instead
be treated as a regulated drug.
"Appropriate regulation would dispel much of the quackery associated
with this elusive hormone," Dr. Stewart writes.