Dehydroepiandrosterone in women with premature ovarian failure and Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Climacteric. 2014 Feb;17(1):92-6. doi: 10.3109/13697137.2013.800040. Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Abstract

We evaluated dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels in premature ovarian failure (POF) patients with and without Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and the impact of DHEA supplementation on thyroid autoantibodies. In a retrospective case series, we included 67 women with spontaneous POF who received estrogen/gestagen replacement with or without DHEA (30 mg/day) for 3 months. Women who were seropositive for thyroglobulin antibodies and/or thyroperoxidase autoantibodies (n = 30) revealed lower pretherapeutic DHEAS levels (1.2 μg/ml, range 0.4-2.9 μg/ml vs. 1.9 μg/ml, range 0.2-3.9 μg/ml; p < 0.001). DHEAS showed an inverse correlation with both thyroglobulin antibodies (r = -0.426, p < 0.001) and thyroperoxidase autoantibodies (r = -0.362, p = 0.002). When treated with additional DHEA, significant decreases were found for thyroperoxidase autoantibodies (median 85.0 IU/ml, range 41-600 IU/ml vs. median 51.0 IU/ml, range 20-589 IU/ml; p = 0.005) but not for thyroglobulin antibodies.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Autoantibodies / blood
  • Dehydroepiandrosterone / administration & dosage*
  • Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / blood*
  • Estrogen Replacement Therapy
  • Female
  • Hashimoto Disease / blood*
  • Hashimoto Disease / drug therapy
  • Hashimoto Disease / immunology
  • Humans
  • Iodide Peroxidase / immunology
  • Primary Ovarian Insufficiency / blood*
  • Primary Ovarian Insufficiency / drug therapy
  • Primary Ovarian Insufficiency / immunology*
  • Retrospective Studies

Substances

  • Autoantibodies
  • anti-thyroglobulin
  • Dehydroepiandrosterone
  • Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate
  • Iodide Peroxidase