Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone administration on disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Dehydroepiandrosterone as a regulator of immune cell function

“…The second part of this review aims to summarise recent studies performed in both rodents [22,[82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91], and humans [92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105], that have investigated whether DHEA supplementation can reverse the immune dysregulation that occurs coincident with DHEA deficiency.…”

“…Despite increasing serum levels of DHEA, this therapy had no beneficial effect on RA pathology [104]. However, as low levels of DHEA precede the onset of RA [117], DHEA supplementation may prove to be more successful if administered during the early phase of RA.…”

Amelioration of murine antigen-induced arthritis by dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

“…In contrast, DHEA failed to influence established CIA. Similar effects have been observed in patients with long-standing active RA, i.e., a rise of serum DHEA induced by long-term oral administration was not associated with any improvement of joint lesions [29]. However, recent controlled studies have shown that the levels of DHEAS (the transport form of DHEA) are significantly decreased in male and female patients with inflammatory arthritis [24].…”

“…However, because of the controversial results about the role of DHEA in the pathophysiology of arthritis [24,29], the value of such a replacement therapy in humans requires further study. …”

“…Subcutaneous administration of exogenous DHEA protects against the development of murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), but it fails to influence established disease [28]. Thus far, effects on established RA in humans could not be shown [29]. In contrast to RA, SLE is considered to be a Th2-mediated autoimmune disease with altered metabolism of estrogens [22].…”