Cognition Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cognition, including details on psychology, neuroscience, memory, brain theory.

Dhea supplementation and cognition in postmenopausal women.

Parsons TD, Kratz KM, Thompson E, Stanczyk FZ, Buckwalter JG

Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7025, USA. tparsons@neurology

Previous work has suggested that DHEA supplementation may have adverse cognitive effects in elderly women. This article analyzed 24-h measurements of DHEA, DHEAS, and cortisol to determine if cognitive decrease with treatment is mediated by DHEA's impact on endogenous cortisol. It was found that DHEA administration increased cortisol at several hours during the day. In the treatment group, cortisol was positively associated with cognition at study completion. An increase in negative associations between DHEA(S) levels and cognition was found at completion. Increased cortisol does not explain the cognitive deficits associated with DHEA, suggesting a direct negative effect of exogenous DHEA on cognition.

Published 5 January 2006 in Int J Neurosci, 116(2): 141-55.
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