ABSTRACT
Dehydroepiandrosterone (5-androsten-3 -ol-17-one; DHEA) and its sulfate ester dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) are the principal steroids secreted by the adrenal cortex and circulating in the blood in humans (Baulieu, 1962; Schwartz et al., 1988). For a long time DHEA(S) represented a hormone in search of a function; but there is now increasing evidence that DHEA(S), besides its function as a precursor in the biosynthesis of potent androgens and estrogens, has effects in various parts of the body, particularly on the immune system and the cardiovascular system (summarized in Kalimi and Regelson, 2000), and in the brain where DHEA acts as a neurosteroid (Baulieu and Robel, 1996). Although significant progress has been achieved during recent years (Bellino et al., 1995; Kalimi and Regelson, 2000), the mechanism of DHEA action has not yet been fully elucidated.
