There is evidence that DHEA can improve feelings of well-being and increase sexual satisfaction, but only in people whose adrenal glands are functioning poorly. There are also preliminary results indicating that it may have a beneficial effect on some people with major depression. Some antiaging clinics suggest taking it as early as your 40's or 50's to fight off old age and remain biologically young.
Athletes take it in large doses to enhance their performance.
However, much of the research behind these claims was done on laboratory animals, and experts caution that the results of such studies cannot be translated to humans. The long-term effects of DHEA supplementation are not known and since it is a powerful hormone, it should be used with great caution and only with your doctor's advice. It is the most abundant hormone in the body, with the highest concentrations found in the brain. The only known function of DHEA is as a precursor hormone, meaning that it is a source material which the body converts into other hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone. It peaks in production by the age of 25 and gradually declines until, by age 70, levels may be more than 80 percent below their earlier highs.