DHEA Is Helpful For Addiction

Hans

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DHEA can be used for addiction. There's an inverse correlation between DHEA-S and addition as well as relapse. Haidut has posted some studies that stress and cortisol promote addiction. DHEA levels and supplementation has been found to reduce drug cravings and relapse regardless of cortisol levels, which indicates that it's anti-addiction properties are not only through lowering stress.

The research shows that DHEA and DHEA-S reduce addiction through increasing the DHEA:cortisol ratio and lowering the stress response thus improving mental resiliency, activating the NMDA and sigmoid receptor, blocking excess glutamate and GABA-A, as well as increase allopregnanolone and beta-endorphins.

Dehydroepiandrosterone and Addiction - ScienceDirect
"In a research monograph written by Wilkins et al. at the end of the previous millennium (1996), the authors suggested that plasma levels of DHEA sulfate (DHEAS) may be used to discriminate between treatment outcomes in groups of cocaine addicts (Wilkins et al., 2005). They found that those who had high basal levels of DHEAS remained abstinent following treatment for cocaine dependence/detoxification."

"Chronic cocaine self-administration induced elevations in brain DHEA, its sulfate ester, DHEAS, and pregnenolone"

"Drugs blocking central corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptors or decreasing ACTH and CORT can attenuate self-administration"

"DHEA treatment caused a decrease in both CORT and ACTH levels at similar doses (Maayan et al., 2006, 2005). Such a decrease may explain, at least in part, the attenuation in cocaine-seeking behavior."

"On the other hand, treatment with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a σ1R receptor agonist, albeit chronically, attenuates cocaine self-administration and relapse to cocaine-seeking behavior in rats"

"DHEAS, which promotes presynaptic glutamate release in the prelimbic cortex via activation of σ1R (Dong et al., 2007), may alleviate drug-seeking behavior."

"DHEA is a positive modulator of the NMDA-R (Dubrovsky, 2005; Mellon & Griffin, 2002a, 2002b; Rupprecht & Holsboer, 1999) and may attenuate cocaine-induced effects by enhancing glutamate activity."

"PREG sulfate acts as an AMPA-R negative modulator (Dubrovsky, 2005). Therefore, one may assume that DHEAS (partially converted from DHEA) acts similarly. This is supported by Kimonides et al. (1998), who found that DHEAS attenuates AMPA and kainate neurotoxicity in hippocampal neurons"
 
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I took 10 milligrams for a stint and it seems to raise dopamine. Maybe that is another factor in helping with addiction.
 
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Hans

Hans

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I took 10 milligrams for a stint and it seems to raise dopamine. Maybe that is another factor in helping with addiction.
Yes, but interestingly dopamine supplementation also lowers DHEA-S.
 

shine

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Yes, but interestingly dopamine supplementation also lowers DHEA-S.

What do you mean by dopamine supplementation? Supplementing precursors?

Does it increase DHEA though while lowering DHEA-S concentration?
 
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Hans

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What do you mean by dopamin supplementation? Supplementing precursors?

Does it increase DHEA though while lowering DHEA-S concentration?
Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate in critical illness: effect of dopamine. - PubMed - NCBI
"Dopamine infusion appears to suppress serum DHEAS concentrations in critically ill patients without affecting their elevated serum cortisol levels, suggesting a differential regulation of DHEAS and cortisol metabolism in critical illness. The lowering effect of dopamine on DHEAS levels could be linked to the concomitant suppression of circulating PRL. The simultaneous suppression of circulating PRL and DHEAS by dopamine infusion may be an iatrogenic factor maintaining or aggravating the anergic state of prolonged severe illness."

I don't think this will happen to people that's healthy and no one is going to infuse dopamine anyway. I also don't think dopamine raising substances will lower DHEA-S though.
 

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