biology

Prasterone

Prasterone is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Prasterone rather than just read about it. In short: Prasterone, also known as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and sold under the brand name Intrarosa among others, is a medication as well as over-the-counter dietary supplement which is used to correct DHEA deficiency due to adrenal insufficiency or old age, as a component of menopausal hormone therapy, to treat painful sexual intercourse due to vaginal atrophy, and to prepare the cervix for childbirth, among other uses…

Key takeaways

Prasterone belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Prasterone to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Prasterone from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Prasterone, also known as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and sold under the brand name Intrarosa among others, is a medication as well as over-the-counter dietary supplement which is used to correct DHEA deficiency due to adrenal insufficiency or old age, as a component of menopausal hormone therapy, to treat painful sexual intercourse due to vaginal atrophy, and to prepare the cervix for childbirth, among other uses. It is taken by mouth, by application to the skin, in through the vagina, or by injection into muscle. Side effects of prasterone in women include symptoms of masculinization like oily skin, acne, increased hair growth, voice changes, and increased sexual desire, headaches, insomnia, and others. The compound is a naturally occurring prohormone of androgens and estrogens and hence is an agonist of the androgen and estrogen receptors, the respective biological targets of androgens like testosterone and estrogens like estradiol. Prasterone also has a variety of activities of its own, including neurosteroid and other activities. DHEA, the active ingredient of prasterone, was discovered in 1934. An association between DHEA levels and aging was first reported in 1965. The compound started being used as a medication in the late 1970s and as a supplement in the early 1980s. The marketing of prasterone over-the-counter as a supplement is allowed in the United States but is banned in many other countries.

Medical uses

Deficiency DHEA and DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S) are produced by the adrenal glands. In people with adrenal insufficiency such as in Addison's disease, there may be deficiency of DHEA and DHEA-S. In addition, levels of these steroids decrease throughout life and are 70 to 80% lower in the elderly relative to levels in young adults. Prasterone can be used to increase DHEA and DHEA-S levels in adrenal insufficiency and older age. Although there is deficiency of these steroids in such individuals, clinical benefits of supplementation, if any, are uncertain, and there is insufficient evidence at present to support the use of prasterone for such purposes.

Menopause

Prasterone is sometimes used as an androgen in menopausal hormone therapy. In addition to prasterone itself, a long-lasting ester prodrug of prasterone, prasterone enanthate, is used in combination with estradiol valerate for the treatment of menopausal symptoms under the brand name Gynodian Depot. The current evidence of any benefit of DHEA supplementation to menopausal and postmenopausal women is inconclusive. Whereas prasterone (DHEA) supplementation in postmenopausal women can lead to an increase in E1, E2, testosterone, DHEA, and DHEAS serum levels, and a reduction in SHBG; still, the current evidence regarding the benefits of DHEA supplementation in postmenopausal women is inconclusive—while some studies suggest potential benefits, such as improved well-being, sexual function, and possibly decreased menopausal symptoms, these findings are not universally agreed upon. Moreover, the long-term safety data for DHEA supplementation is lacking, which is a significant concern. This is particularly relevant given that DHEA supplementation can lead to increased estrogenic availability, which could potentially have implications for conditions sensitive to hormonal levels.

Vaginal atrophy Prasterone, under the brand name Intrarosa, is approved in the United States in a vaginal insert formulation for the treatment of atrophic vaginitis. The mechanism of action of prasterone for this indication is unknown, though it may involve local metabolism of prasterone into androgens and estrogens.

Sexual desire Prasterone has been used orally at a dosage of 10 mg/day to increase sexual desire in women.

Childbirth

As the sodium salt of prasterone sulfate (brand names Astenile, Mylis, Teloin), an ester prodrug of prasterone, prasterone is used in Japan as an injection for the treatment of insufficient cervical ripening and cervical dilation during childbirth.

Available forms

Prasterone was previously marketed as a pharmaceutical medication under the brand name Diandrone in the form of a 10 mg oral tablet in the United Kingdom.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Prasterone

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Prasterone claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Prasterone before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Prasterone ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Prasterone

In research: Prasterone appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Prasterone in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Prasterone is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Androgens, Androstanes, Dietary supplements, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Prasterone outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Prasterone in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Prasterone means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Prasterone out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Prasterone in simple terms?

Why does Prasterone matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Prasterone?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Prasterone.