title: Age-related effects of DHEA on peripheral markers of oxidative stress.
abstract: Ageing is an inevitable biological process characterized by a general decline in various physiological functions. DHEA and DHEAS levels are maximal between the second and third life decades, then start to decline 2% per year, leaving a residual of 10-20% of the peak production by the eighth decade. Erythrocytes are exposed to frequent oxidative stress due to the oxygen radicals continuously generated by haemoglobin auto-oxidation. We investigated DHEA chronic (10 mg/kg, subcutaneously, for 5 weeks) effects over oxidative stress markers in erythrocytes of male Wistar rats of 3, 13 and 18 month-old. In the 13 month-old group, we found increased lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase and catalase activities when compared to the other age groups. DHEA produced a marked increase in LPO of 13 month-old group when compared to its control. DHEA exerted this pro-oxidant effects in all ages studied, especially in age 13 month-old. It seems that at 13 month-old there would be an important depletion of some specific anti-oxidant in order to determine such susceptibility to DHEA effects. Since this approach allows a minimally invasive assessment, it would be useful as a routine method in human clinical studies investigating DHEA effects during the ageing process.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. mhvmjacob@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Maria Helena Vianna Metello
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Daiane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: da R Janner
authors.forename: Matheus Parmegiani
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Jahn
authors.forename: Luiz Carlos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kucharski
authors.forename: Adriane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belló-Klein
authors.forename: Maria Flavia Marques
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D005982:Glutathione Transferase