ABSTRACT
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester (DHEAS) are the most abundant circulating adrenal steroids in humans. The serum concentration of DHEAS in human plasma is approximately 300-fold higher than that of DHEA and 20-fold higher than that of any other steroid hormone. DHEA is considered to be a weak androgen. Peak levels of DHEA and DHEAS occur around the age of twenty and decrease gradually to 5% of these peak values by age ninety. DHEA is synthesized from pregnenolone, more than 90% of the synthesis in the total body being carried out in the adrenal gland, and DHEA is metabolized to androstenedione, testosterone, and estrogens.
