Interactive effect of an acute bout of resistance exercise and dehydroepiandrosterone administration on glucose tolerance and serum lipids in middle-aged women

The present study determined the interactive effect of an acute bout of resistance exercise and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) administration on glucose tolerance and serum lipids. Twenty middle-aged female subjects performed an acute bout of resistance exercise and were subsequently divided into two groups: placebo (age 40.7 +/- 2.0) and DHEA administered (age 39.0 +/- 2.7). Ten subjects who received DHEA (age 41.5 +/- 4.6) participated in a non-exercise control. DHEA (25 mg twice daily) or placebo was orally supplemented for 48 hours. Before exercise and 48 hours after the last exercise bout (14 hours after the last DHEA intake), an oral glucose tolerance test and an insulin concentration were determined. Levels of fasting serum cholesterol and triglyceride, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), creatine kinase (CK) were also measured. The DHEA administration significantly elevated the fasting dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) level by approximately 3-fold. Both acute resistance exercise and DHEA administration improved glucose tolerance, but no addictive effect was found. Furthermore, exercise and DHEA administration did not affect serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels, but both lipids were significantly lowered when DHEA was given following exercise. Resistance exercise induced elevations in serum CK and TNFalpha levels, but these increases were attenuated by the DHEA administration. The new finding of this study was that post-exercise DHEA administration decreased serum triglycerides and cholesterol. This effect appeared to be associated with its TNF-alpha lowering action.