Patients on Androgen Replacement Need Careful Monitoring.

TORONTO -- Postmenopausal women on androgen replacement therapy should be carefully monitored to avoid androgenic side effects, Dr. Cristin Slater said at the annual meeting of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation.

"A lot of women are going to pharmacies that compound testosterone gels or lozenges that have not been pharmacokinetically tested. And others are self-medicating with high doses of DHEA [dehydroepiandrosterone], which is available without a prescription from health food stores," said Dr. Slater, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

In a study presented at the meeting, she showed evidence that DHEA may have potential as a combined estrogen and androgen replacement therapy. Nevertheless, the long-term effects and proper doses of DHEA still need to be identified.

"We measured the effect of 25 mg per day of DHEA over 6 months, and we noticed significantly increased hormone levels. But some women take up to 200 mg a day, so it's pretty frightening how pronounced their levels might be with those higher doses," she said in an interview.

The prospective study looked at DHEA supplementation (25 mg/day for 6 months) in eight healthy, postmenopausal women aged 55-65.

Testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, estrone, estradiol, and 3-[alpha]-androstanediol glucuronide (3AG) levels each were measured before and after DHEA administration.

After 6 months of treatment, testosterone levels increased approximately 50% above baseline, dihydrotestosterone levels doubled, and 3AG levels more than tripled.