Lucknow, June 2 -- In a promising development for India's growing public health sector, especially in the area of liver disease, researchers at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) have found a natural hormone, more commonly associated with aging and sex hormones, that may hold the key to halting advanced liver damage. From hormone health to liver protection, this study spotlights the body's own defenses-and how aging quietly erodes them. The study, led by Dr Rohit A Sinha and his team-Dr Sana Raza and Pratima Gupta-unveiled the protective power of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in tackling nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a severe form of fatty liver disease closely linked to obesity, diabetes, and sedentary lifestyles. With India witnessing a sharp rise in these conditions, the findings offer new hope rooted in an often overlooked biological marker: hormones that decline with age. Published in Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, the study reveals how DHEA boosts the liver's ability to eliminate toxic fat buildup, reduce inflammation, and resist progressive damage. Most notably, the hormone's role in producing sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone may indirectly shield the liver from the cascade of damage seen in NASH. Crucially, the researchers highlighted that DHEA levels naturally decline with age-coinciding with the period when NASH risk increases. This discovery reframes liver health as not just a metabolic issue but a hormonal one, opening up the potential for age-based hormone monitoring and therapy as a preventive strategy. "This could change how we think about liver disease in older adults," said Dr Sinha. "If low DHEA is a risk factor, restoring it might become a simple yet effective intervention." "As India grapples with a fast-aging population and rising metabolic disorders, the study suggests integrating DHEA screening into routine geriatric care could become a vital step in curbing future liver disease epidemics," he added. htc...