DHEA for Male Infertility
There is no credible evidence that DHEA improves male infertility or sperm quality, and it may even lower sperm count, so it cannot be recommended for this use. Its fertility track record applies to women (ovarian reserve/IVF), not men.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
This claim is graded Unverified (insufficient evidence) because the human trial base for DHEA in male infertility is essentially empty. The only randomized trial touching the male reproductive axis (PMID 15037408) gave 50 or 200 mg/day DHEA to just 11 healthy, non-infertile men for three months; it raised DHEA and LH but produced no change in testosterone, estradiol, or any semen parameter. The authors explicitly warned that longer or higher dosing could be toxic to the reproductive axis. The only other study found (PMID 25735445) was a cross-sectional hormone survey of 94 men with no DHEA arm, so it is at best tangential.
A core problem is an evidence-to-indication mismatch: DHEA's fertility literature is overwhelmingly about women with diminished ovarian reserve undergoing IVF, and cannot be extrapolated to male-factor infertility. No randomized trial in actually infertile or oligospermic men exists, and the major specialty guidelines do not endorse DHEA for this purpose.
Regulators and clinics reinforce caution rather than support. The FDA has approved DHEA (prasterone) only as Intrarosa for postmenopausal painful sex, not for male fertility; the UK classes it as a prescription-only and Class C controlled drug; and WADA bans it as an anabolic agent. Mayo Clinic notes DHEA combined with testosterone may actually cause low sperm count and gynecomastia, a potential harm signal, not a benefit.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.396
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — D 級條件未達 (需 E1-E3 negative；實際 E7)
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status