Hormone Testing at Access Medical Laboratories

HORMONE INFORMATION - Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)

What is it?

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a biologically active metabolite of the hormone testosterone, formed primarily in the prostate gland, testes, hair follicles, and adrenal glands. Dihydrotestosterone belongs to the class of compounds called androgens, also commonly called androgenic hormones or testoids. Androgens are part of the biology of gender by stimulating and controlling the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics. DHT is 3 times more potent than testosterone; testosterone is 5-10 times more potent than adrenal androgens. While DHT is best known for its roles in causing male pattern hair loss and prostate problems, it is crucial to virilization and is necessary to mitigate estrogen's effects in men.

Significance

DHT is produced by males in vivo and is responsible for the formation of male sex-specific characteristics. DHT is an important contributor to other characteristics generally attributed to males, including facial and body hair growth, and deepening of the voice. DHT may also play a crucial role in both sex drive and the growth of muscle tissue. Unlike other androgens such as testosterone, DHT cannot be converted by the enzyme aromatase to estradiol. It, therefore, is frequently used in research settings to distinguish between effects of testosterone caused by binding to the androgen receptor, and those caused by testosterone's conversion to estradiol and subsequent binding to estrogen receptors.

Pathology

DHT is the primary contributing factor in male-pattern baldness. Female-pattern baldness is more complex, and DHT is only one of many causes of women's hair loss. Women with increased levels of DHT may develop certain androgynous male secondary sex characteristics, including a deepened voice and facial hair. DHT may play a role in the development or exacerbation of benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, and prostate cancer, by enlarging the prostate gland. Unfortunately the role of DHT on the prostate is not completely understood. There are some theories that the combination of DHT with other changes in other hormones such as increasing estrogen may be a factor. There are theories that indicate DHT injections can actually be used to treat benign prostate hypertrophy. The clinical application of this theory is discussed in US patent 5,648,350 Dihydrotestosterone for use in androgenotherapy. As such more research is required and there are studies underway to help understand the role of DHT on the prostate.

DHT is also known to participate in the development in some cases of acne.

HORMONE IMBALANCE SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN Allergy symptoms Depression, Fatigue, Anxiety Endometriosis Fibrocystic breasts Hair loss, facial hair growth Headaches, dizziness Low sex drive Osteoporosis PMS Urinary tract infection Weight gain Wrinkly skin

HORMONE IMBALANCE SYMPTOMS IN MEN Difficulty passing urine Mood swings Inability to lose weight Fatigue Foggy thinking, Memory loss Lack of interest in sex Reduced muscle strength Erectile dysfunction Enlarged prostate Burning sensation urinating Panic, weeping Blood sugar imbalance

RESOURCES:

1. http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/full/23/30/7546

2. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00490022