Most recently, researchers have pinpointed a causative factor = a dysfunction of platelet-producing cells.

Thus blood thinners and drugs to inhibit platelet aggregation are now being tested in US hospitals.

 

The double-edged sword = too much blood thinner or too much anti-platelet effect → hemorrhage, and a different type of stroke.

 

Proposal: DHEA has been shown – in multiple trials – to regulate blood clotting, specifically by reducing platelet aggregation, and has NEVER been shown to increase risk for hemorrhage. In other words, DHEA acts as a regulator, not merely an inhibitor of platelet activity.

 

DHEA also has anti-inflammatory and immune modulating activity, which may account – at least in part – for the high survival rate among young people, and the poor outcomes from infection in older patients.

 

A. People with diabetes are at much higher risk of severe COVID infection and death compared to age-matched controls.

B. Diabetics have lower levels of DHEA compared to people the same age without diabetes.

C. DHEA has been shown in human clinical trials to improve the diabetic state.

D. There have been exactly zero clinical trials of DHEA supplementation for the multiple pathologies seen in COVID-19 infection. No one is looking at DHEA to improve glucose homeostasis. No one is exploring the benefits of DHEA in reducing inflammation, augmenting the immune response, or normalizing platelet function.

 

 

1. Horm Metab Res. 2012 Jul;44(8):625-31. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1309056. DHEA Prevents the Aggregation of Platelets Obtained From Postmenopausal Women With Type 2 Diabetes Through the Activation of the PKC/eNOS/NO Pathway. Y C Muñoz , et al.

2. Steroids. 2012 Feb;77(3):260-8. doi: 10.1016/j.steroids.2011.12.010. Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate Inhibits Thrombin-Induced Platelet Aggregation. Alessandra Bertoni , Alessandro Rastoldo, et al.