title: [Dehydroepiandrosterone. Renaissance after 13 years].
abstract: DHEA, a steroid precursor of androgens and estrogens has also an inhibitory effect on several enzymes, namely on 11 beta-hydroxylase, NADH oxidase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The latter is the rate limiting enzyme of the pentose phosphate cycle. This metabolic pathway provides the cells with extramitochondrial NADPH and pentose phosphates. NADPH is used for the synthesis of fatty acids and steroids. Together with ribose 5-phosphate, NADPH (as coenzyme of folate reductases) is required for the synthesis of nucleic acids. A deficient production of DHEA has been found to be responsible for several diseases obesity, diabetes type 2, hypertension, arteriosclerosis and hyperuricemia as well as malignant growth (low DHEA syndrome). DHEA administration favourably modified several of these metabolic disorders. These studies were started in our laboratory in 1962 and stopped in 1976 because we were short of DHEA. At that time the response to our results was rather theoretical, but the last years a new wave of interest in DHEA called for two consecutive symposia, where important findings were presented (Paris in January and Jena in April 1989). It is a damage that this new trend, started in our laboratory, could not be pursued up to now without interruption.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sonka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone
vernacular_title: Dehydroepiandrosteron. Renesance po 13 letech.