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Dietary Supplements pp 123–147Cite as

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) (Prasterone)

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Part of the book series: Forensic Science and Medicine ((FSM))

Abstract

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an endogenous steroid that is produced by the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex (Gurnell and Chatterjee, 2001). It was first isolated in 1934 from urine by Butenandt and Dannenbaum. In 1944, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), DHEA’s sulfated metabolite, was isolated from the urine. In 1954, DHEA was isolated from the blood, and in 1959 the chemist E.E. Baulieu discovered that DHEA-S was the most abundant form of the hormone found in human plasma. In 1965, De Neve and Vermeulen reported an association between DHEA-S levels and aging; it was found that as people age, DHEA-S levels decline in a linear fashion (Lieberman, 1995; Yen, 2001). This discovery led to numerous studies that focused on the link between DHEA and DHEA-S levels and the aging process.

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Authors
  1. John Edward Pope
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  2. Melanie Johns Cupp
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  3. Timothy S. Tracy
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Melanie Johns Cupp PharmD, BCPS  & Timothy S. Tracy PhD  & 

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Pope, J.E., Cupp, M.J., Tracy, T.S. (2003). Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) (Prasterone). In: Cupp, M.J., Tracy, T.S. (eds) Dietary Supplements. Forensic Science and Medicine. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-303-3_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-303-3_8

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-9726-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-303-3

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