Short-term dehydroepiandrosterone treatment increases platelet cGMP production in elderly male subjects.

Objective: Several clinical and population-based studies suggest that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulphate (DHEA-S) play a protective role against atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease in human. However, the mechanisms underlying this action are still unknown. It has recently been suggested that DHEA-S could delay atheroma formation through an increase in nitric oxide (NO) production.

Transdermal oestradiol replacement therapy enhances platelet constitutive nitric oxide synthase activity in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To determine whether treatment with transdermal oestrogen replacement therapy (TERT) in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus was able to increase the activity of constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) in platelets.

Research Design And Methods: Eighteen postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (group A) were studied in basal conditions (A1) and on the 10th day of the third month of a sequential opposed TERT (A2) evaluating platelet cNOS activity measured by the conversion of radiolabelled l-arginine to l-citrulline. As a control group (B) 25 normal postmenopausal women underwent the same treatment (B1 and B2 before and during treatment, respectively).