Research

Hormonal

Long-term DHEA replacement (50 mg/day) in patients with primary adrenal insufficiency reverses bone mineral density loss at the femoral neck and increases total and truncal lean mass without changing fat mass.

If you have Addison's disease, your body doesn't make enough DHEA. Taking 50mg of DHEA daily for a year can help stop bone loss in your hip and build muscle mass without adding fat. This is a specific medical treatment for a specific deficiency, not a general supplement for healthy people.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
DHEA reversed ongoing loss of bone mineral density at the femoral neck (P < 0.05) but not at other sites; DHEA enhanced total body (P < 0.02) and truncal (P < 0.017) lean mass significantly with no change in fat mass.
Eleanor Gurnell et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2007

Why this rating

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 106 subjects, though limited by specific pathology (Addison's).

Source

Long-Term DHEA Replacement in Primary Adrenal Insufficiency: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Eleanor Gurnell et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2007

DOI 10.1210/jc.2007-1134

rct · n=106Cited 188×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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