Elevated DHEA

[jeschiotz]

My hormon lab came back this morning. Cortisol looks nice,so do Aldosteron ( a little bit on the low side but in range)and testosteron quite low. . But DHEA was sligthtly elevated to 13,9 (3-11) Anything to worry about? Im a male. And Im using Ashawandha herb

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

If you Google 'Ashwagandha and DHEA' you will get some links that will help. This is one endo.confex.com/endo/2013en...

Their conclusion is

"One needs to be aware of the various effects of ashwagandha on androgen mediated processes. We postulate that ashwagandha inhibits the adrenal conversion of androstenedione to testosterone by inhibiting aldo-keto reductase AKR1C3 (HSD17B5) causing an elevation of DHEAS and lowering of testosterone levels, which was the pattern seen in our case. We would like to share this experience so that clinicians encountering patients using ashwagandha are aware of hormonal changes reported here. Often these remedies are viewed as harmless, and may go uninvestigated if a unique or unexpected clinical finding is encountered."