Hi Paul and Kitty:

I am a 50 y/o male supplementing with DHEA. I read on the Life Extension
website that for better health, males sould try to get their serum DHEA-s to the
level of a 20 to 29 year old male. Three months ago I was taking 100 mgs DHEA
per day. At that time my estradiol was 13 pg/ml (desirable is 10-30). My
total testosterone was 442 ng/dl (desirable is 500-827), and DHEA-s was
265mcg/dl (desirable is 400-560).
So I increased my DHEA to 150 mgs/day in divided doses. My total testosterone
checked recently was 310 ng/dl and my serum DHEA-s went to 300 mcg/dl.

Do you know if there is another pathway for DHEA to be converted in the body
other than to estrogens and testosterone. Or is there a good possibility that
there may be a GI absorption problem. It seems like 150 mgs of DHEA would put
my labs in the range of a 20-29 year old male. Randy


[Paul addressed this question before here at MoreLife Yahoo back
about 2 years ago - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/morelife/message/110
and earlier in LEF Forums. (When you do a search there, you'll
need to look for the :: surrounding his comments in messages
prior to January 10 2002 since LEF removed his characteristic
red formatted [text --Tom] this past July.)

I have acquired a greater appreciation for (and absorbed more
understanding of) the enormous complexity of the human body
since partnering with Paul, although one would think that 13
years as a registered nurse in my first career (I'm on the 3rd)
would have provided me with that. All the cells of the human
body have the potential for turning one hormone into another
*if* they produce the enzymes necessary for that synthesis. The
fact is that the needed enzymes for the various steps of turning
pregnenolone into testosterone are produced only in large amounts
in the cells of the testiclular tissue; and there are side paths
present also, not just a simple one-way path from one to the other.

DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) can be taken supplementary and as
a result will go to virutally all cells of the body, rather than
selectively to the testes. Since there are far more other cells,
than there are testicular cells in the human male body, in most
of which the availablity of enymes needed in the pathway that
will result in testosterone is severely limited, relatively
little of exogenous DHEA will be converted to testosterone. By
relatively little" I mean that while such a production of
testesterone may be significant for a female who has no
testicular production, it is not significant in comparision with
the testicular output. Instead, exogenous DHEA is converted to
other metabolites. In addition, every cell is capable of producing
aromatase (particularly fat cells) which convert any testosterone
produced into estradiol, whereas in the testes aromatase
production is strongly inhibited and so the testosterone remains
to enter the blood stream and to get converted to the most active
masculine hormone, DHT. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that
supplementing with DHEA will cause any significant increase the
serum testosterone level of a male.

From the old message 110:
"[... the ability of the body to convert DHEA (outside of the
testes) into testosterone is severely limited and, in men,
supplementing DHEA does not usually increase testosterone much.
It is really not very clear how one can increase one's
testosterone level without using testosterone cremes, gels or
patches. I have been trying to do this for myself for some years
now to replace the output of my missing testicle (lost by
torsion at age 31). However, I admit that I have not been trying
exceptionally hard because I have no sexual dysfunction whatever,
even with slightly low testosterone.
The best and first things for Enrique to do are to look to
improvements in his diet and getting more exercise. Especially
the last will do wonders for his energy and virility. Physical
exercise will even improve his cognitive functions and his
performance at work! --Paul]" I will add that Paul has plenty
of sexual interest and capability when he is not greatly
distracted by his philosophical writings - which are admittedly
more pronounced the last few weeks as he works on concentration-
intense improvements to the Natural Social Contract. :) **Kitty]

[The "desirable" numbers that you cite above are not in any way
scientific, but are only an educated guess by some LEF consultant.
In fact, while DHEA supplementation and an increased from age
norm serum value is likely beneficial, there are also good reasons
why it may be beneficial for DHEA levels to decrease with age. The
reason is because DHEA causes IGF-1 production by the liver and
IGF-1 is a definite factor in the proliferation of prostate cells
and prostate cancer cells if there are any. 8 years ago I used to
try to keep my DHEA-S in the range that you quote above, and my
IGF-1 also high, but now I am quite happy (because I think it is
overall healthier) to have my values at their current levels (a
year ago DHEA-S = 181 mcg/dl, IGF-1 = 114 ng/ml and total
testosterone = 287 ng/dl).
Why your testosterone actually decreased is a bit of a puzzle. It
may be this was some kind of negative feedback resulting from the
higher dose of DHEA and it may be related to additional estradiol,
which is a shame that you did not measure the second time, since
it must always be monitored whenever you make major changes in
steroid hormones.
Finally, losing any excess fat to reach a BMI of below 22 and
aerobic exercise as mentioned above will also help both hormonal
output and particularly its mental and virilizing benefits. --Paul]