Reactions 724 - 24 Oct 1998

★Prasterone

First report of arrhythmias: case reportA 55-year-old man experienced arrhythmias after he took

prasterone [dehydroepiandrosterone], purchased over thecounter as a sexual potency enhancer and energy stimulator.

Two weeks after the man started to take prasterone 50mg/day, he experienced palpitations. Benign premature atrialcontractions and some premature ventricular contractionswere observed and he was treated with propranolol asrequired. The patient continued to use prasterone forapproximately 3 months and no further palpitations were seenwith continued use of concomitant propranolol. The patientthen discontinued prasterone.

Approximately 4 months later, the man restarted prasterone50 mg/day and his arrhythmias recurred within 36 hours. Thearrhythmias were characterised as premature atrial andpremature ventricular contractions and resolved aftertreatment with atenolol. Prasterone was stopped once more.

Author comment: ‘This report of arrhythmia seeminglyassociated with initial exposure to DHEA[dehydroepiandrosterone] and with rechallenge suggests thatthis hormone in high dosages (25 to 50 mg/d) may be anetiologic factor in palpitations.’Sahelian R, et al. Dehydroepiandrosterone and cardiac arrhythmia. Annals ofInternal Medicine 129: 588, 1 Oct 1998 - USA 800700554

» Editorial comment: A search of AdisBase and Medline didnot reveal any previous case reports of arrhythmias associatedwith prasterone.

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Reactions 24 Oct 1998 No. 7240114-9954/10/0724-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved