Supplement found helpful in depression

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

An over-the-counter hormone supplement can improve symptoms of mid-life depression.
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a hormone whose levels drop as people age. Consequently, it's found some popularity as an anti-aging supplement. A team at the National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, USA, now reports upon a small study of DHEA in mid-life depression. A group of 23 men and 23 women took either DHEA or placebo for six weeks and then swopped over.

They found that DHEA improved symptoms of both mild and moderate depression compared to placebo. This included improvement in sexual functioning. In fact, 50 per cent of subjects reported some benefit, which is quite a high level of response. Given that many people don't like antidepressants and would like to take a 'natural' alternative, further study of DHEA is warranted.

Source
Archives of General Psychiatry February 2005 Volume 62 pages 154-162

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