**1. Introduction**

108 Steroids – Basic Science

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Kanbara, Y. & Saibara, T. & Mori, T. & Kawata, S. & Uto, H. & Takami, S. & Sumida, Y. & Takamura, T. & Kawanaka, M. & Okanoue T; Japan NASH Study Group, Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan. (2011). Characteristics of patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis who develop hepatocellular carcinoma. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is either secreted directly from the adrenal cortex or is converted from DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S) in the peripheral organs. DHEA and DHEA-S are the most abundant adrenal androgens in blood, however their its physiological roles still remain unclear. Some recent studies have shown that DHEA and DHEA-S exert beneficial effects on conditions such as diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, obesity, tumors and osteoporosis (Coleman et al.,1982; Gorden et al.,1988; Cleary,1991). In this chapter, the relationships between DHEA or DHEA-S and diabetes mellitus (DM) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) are described.
