DHEA Exempt from Steroid Ban April 18, 2005
News Summary
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a dietary supplement that is converted into steroids in the body, has thus far eluded a federal ban that applies to all other members of the steroid family, the New York Times reported April 17.DHEA is marketed as an anti-aging drug, and has a special legislative exemption from other federal laws banning steroids. However, the drug is banned by the Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency, the National Collegiate Athletics Association, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and baseball minor leagues.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is seen as the key legislator behind the exemption for DHEA: Many dietary-supplement makers are based in Utah, and Hatch lobbied to keep DHEA on the market when Congress was drafting anti-steroid legislation last year. Scott Hatch, the senator's son, is a lobbyist for a trade association for the supplement industry. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) also has been a big supporter of supplements, which do not require approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"There is a big argument that DHEA is very beneficial for health and well-being," Mr. Hatch said.
Synthetic DHEA, made from the roots of wild yams, mimics a natural hormone produced in the adrenal glands. It was banned by the FDA in 1985, but the ban was reversed when Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which freed supplements from FDA oversight.
The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 included most precursor drugs that, like DHEA, lead to steroid production in the body, including the better-known androstenedione, or andro. Other lawmakers said that the Hatch exception for DHEA was simply a political move to get the legislation passed.
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