AUTHOR=Pan Xiongfeng , Wu Xinyin , Kaminga Atipatsa C. , Wen Shi Wu , Liu Aizhong 

TITLE=Dehydroepiandrosterone and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00061

DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2019.00061

ISSN=1663-4365

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background and Purpose:</bold> Previous studies found inconsistent results for the relationship between Alzheimer's disease and the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. This study performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate previous studies' results on this relationship.</p><p><bold>Method:</bold> Studies related to this outcome were obtained using a systematic search from the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Psyc-ARTICLES in March 2018. The random-effects model was used to measure the strength of the association between Alzheimer's disease and the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, using the standardized mean difference.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Thirty-one eligible studies were included in the final analysis. There was no statistically significant association between the level of dehydroepiandrosterone and Alzheimer's disease (standardized mean difference: 0.51, 95% confidence interval: −0.44 to 1.45, <italic>Z</italic> = 1.06, <italic>p</italic> = 0.29). On the other hand, lower level dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate was observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease than in controls (standardized mean difference: −0.69, 95% confidence interval: −1.17 to −0.22, <italic>Z</italic> = −2.84, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Decreased dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentrations may be an important indicator for Alzheimer's disease, although whether dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate could be used as a diagnostic tool requires further research.</p>