Hepatitis is a range of liver diseases that involve an inflammation of the liver. Most forms of hepatitis result from infection with a hepatitis virus. In autoimmune hepatitis, the immune system attacks the liver, causing an inflammation. The most severe cases of hepatitis can lead to scarring of the liver, liver cancer and liver failure. Animal studies have shown that DHEA, a steroid hormone, may help prevent liver damage that results from hepatitis.
Hepatitis
There are four types of hepatitis: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and autoimmune hepatitis. The first three result from infection with a hepatitis virus; the fourth results when the immune system wrongly treats the liver as foreign tissue. Patients normally contract hepatitis A from contaminated water or food. The inflammation that results is relatively harmless. You can contract hepatitis B from infected blood, semen and body fluids. Hepatitis B is relatively harmless in healthy adults, but can lead to a chronic liver infection, liver scarring and liver cancer in people with weakened immune systems. Hepatitis C is the most serious of the virus-caused types of hepatitis. If it goes untreated, it can give rise to severe liver damage. You can contract hepatitis C if you come in contact with contaminated blood.
Standard Treatment
Hepatitis A, B and C are normally treated only if they lead to significant inflammation of the liver likely to cause liver damage. Hepatitis A is rarely treated, as it is unlikely to cause liver damage. Hepatitis B and C can be treated with anti-viral medications aimed at clearing your body of the virus. If you already have severe liver damage, the only treatment available is a liver transplant.
DHEA
Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, is a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal glands in men and women and the testes in men. When it is released into the bloodstream, the body turns it into the hormone androstenedione. Your body can convert this hormone into the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. DHEA may help improve various age-related conditions, including brittle skin, age spots, osteoporosis and sexual dysfunction.
DHEA and Hepatitis
A hepatitis infection is particularly harmful to someone with a weakened immune system. With old age, the production of T cells, a major agent in the immune system, may decrease, making infections more dangerous. DHEA may prove promising in correcting an abnormal immune system. An animal study published in the April 1993 issue of “Journal of Infectious Diseases” shows that DHEA can help prevent liver damage from the hepatitis B virus by correcting an age-related imbalance in the production of T cells. Another animal study published in the December 2004 issue of “Biochemical Pharmacology” shows that DHEA also can help prevent liver damage from the immune system’s own attack on the liver, in this case by down-regulating the production of T cells. DHEA has not yet been shown to have similar results in humans.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Hepatitis A
- Mayo Clinic: Hepatitis B
- Mayo Clinic: Hepatitis C
- Mayo Clinic: Autoimmune Hepatitis
- Medline Plus: DHEA
- “Journal of Infectious Diseases”; Reversal of the Immunosenescent Phenotype by Dehydroepiandrosterone: Hormone Treatment Provides an Adjuvant Effect on the Immunization of Aged Mice with Recombinant Hepatitis B Surface Antigen; B.A. Araneo, et al.; April 1993
- “Biochemical Pharmacology”; A Novel Therapy for Acute Hepatitis Utilizing Dehydroepiandrosterone in the Murine Model of Hepatitis; M. Yoneda, et al.; December 2004
