[Dehydroepiandrosterone, reticular area of adrenal cortex and resistance to stress and disease].

The review deals with the biological significance of the reticular area of the adrenal cortex, which is to be clarified. The author's own findings and the data available in the literature indicate that the androgens dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate that are secreted in the reticular area play an important role in ensuring the body's full stable adaptation to stress and simultaneously preventing stress-associated abnormalities, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, immunodefficiency, hypertension, allergies, and cancer. The study of the physiological mechanisms of action of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate is promising for academic and practical medicine and basic biology.