Dehydroepiandrosterone and Melatonin: Two Neurohormones

Complementary or alternative medicines in the United States have received prominent attention during recent years. Though there seems to be little rigorous support for the long-term efficacy and safety of these treatments in humans,1,2 the popularity of these natural products persists. It has been estimated that, for 1997, 12 percent of the U.S. population (approximately 24 million people) had used herbal medi-cines within the previous 12 months, and that 5 billion dollars had been spent on these products during that same year. Two of the alternative medicines included are dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and melatonin. DHEA is a hormone produced primarily by the adrenal glands, and is a precursor for endoge-nous steroid production (e.g., testosterone, estrogen). DHEA is also believed to exert central pharmaco-logic effects. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland and is involved in circadium rhythm maintenance and sleep regulation. Because of extensive physiological effects, these two neuro-hormones are being advocated for the treatment of several medical disorders, as well as for routine ail-ments. The purpose of this article is to discuss salient, pharmacotherapeutic-related characteristics of each hormone, and to briefly review supporting evidence from studies using human subjects. DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE DHEA AND ITS sulfate ester (DHEA-S) aremajor adrenal hormones produced by th