Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Is a Neuroactive Neurosteroid

The discovery of a steroid biosynthetic machinery in the nervous system followed the fortuitous observation of DHEA, as the unconjugated steroid and its sulfate ester (S), in the brain of adult male rats. This was an unexpected finding because the rodent steroidogenic glands, and particularly the adrenals, do not produce DHEA.' We review the data concerning DHEA characterization, biosynthesis, metabolism, and variations in the rat brain and extend these observations to other mammalian, or even vertebrate, species. Secondly, we provide an overview of data on the neurobiologic effects of DHEA and DHEAS.

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