Reduction in body weight and cholesterol in spontaneously obese dogs by dehydroepiandrosterone.

We studied the effect(s) of exogenous dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in spontaneously obese dogs. Nineteen euthyroid obese and six non-obese normal dogs were evaluated. Dogs received DHEA for three months at an escalating dose of 30-75 mg/kg p.o. daily. We found a 3 percent reduction in total body weight/month in 68 percent of the obese dogs, without reduction in food intake. The normal dogs did not lose weight or reduce food intake. Serum cholesterol in obese dogs went from 226 to 173 mg/dl post-treatment and in normal dogs from 128 to 89 mg/dl. Analysis of lipoproteins in four normal dogs revealed that the marked reduction in cholesterol most significantly affected the LDL-HDL1 fraction.