SARMs: A Failed Promise? by Jerry Brainum 9/24

 

 

 

Testosterone is an essential hormone produced in both men and women. Although thought of as a "male hormone," testosterone or T is also produced in women's bodies. In men, the predominant site of testosterone synthesis is the Leydig cells of the testes, with smaller amounts and other androgens produced in the adrenal glands. Most testosterone is produced in the ovaries and the adrenal glands for women. Specifically in women, one-quarter of T is produced in the ovaries; another quarter is produced in the adrenal glands; and half of the testosterone manufactured in women's bodies is made through the peripheral conversion of androgenic precursors, mainly from the ovaries and adrenal glands. One androgen precursor, androstenedione, is directly converted into T in women, but it could be converted into estrogen in men. The popular adrenal steroid, DHEA, is always converted into T in women, but in men, it usually takes other pathways, such as conversion into a metabolite of Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or, even worse, estrogen. With increasing age, levels of steroid hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen, decline. In men, starting at an average age of 30, total testosterone levels drop an average of 1.6% each year, while levels of free or the active form of testosterone decline by 2 to 3% each year past 30.

The age-related drop in testosterone levels in men can result in a variety of hormone deficiency symptoms. These include a loss of sex drive, depression, lack of ability to develop muscle, increased body fat, and possibly more severe conditions such as cardiovascular disease and degenerative brain disease. When a woman reaches the age of menopause, usually between 42 and 45, the steep decline in estrogen production leads to several symptoms, such as vasomotor instability or "hot flashes," as well as more severe complications, including cardiovascular disease and brain degeneration. These symptoms in women led to the development of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) for women, in which estrogen and associated hormones are provided to women to relieve the disturbing symptoms related to menopause. HRT in women is controversial because early forms of estrogen were provided in too high a dose, and that led to an increase in estrogen-sensitive cancers, such as that of the breast and uterus. The situation was corrected by supplying women who undergo HRT with lower doses of estrogen and other hormones, such as progesterone, that temper some of the cancer-promoting effects of estrogen. Estrogen is the only hormone produced in the body that is classified as a carcinogen because of its known effects of promoting breast and uterine cancer. On the other hand, HRT for women is proving to be not as safe as initially believed. A recent study showed that women in their 50s who used standard HRT showed a 24% increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer . . .