Hormone Testing at Access Medical Laboratories

HORMONE INFORMATION - ESTRIOL

What is it?

An estradiol test measures the amount of a hormone called estradiol. Estradiol is the most important form of estrogen found in the body. Most of it is made in and secreted from the ovaries, adrenal cortex, and placenta.

Estradiol is responsible for the growth of the female uterus, Fallopian tubes, and vagina. It promotes breast development and the growth of the outer genitals. The hormone plays a role in the distrubtion of body fat in women and stops the process of growing taller.

How to Prepare for the Test

Consult your health care provider about the need to stop taking drugs that can affect test results, including:

• Estrogen therapy
• Birth control pills

Why the Test is Performed

Estriol (also oestriol) is one of the three main estrogens produced by the human body.Estriol is the weakest of the three major estrogens. In fact it is 1000 times weaker in its effect on breast tissue. Estriol is the estrogen that is made in large quantities during pregnancy and has potential protective properties against the production of cancerous cells.

It is only produced in significant amounts during pregnancy as it is made by the fetal liver from 16-OH DHEA S, an androgen steroid made in the fetal adrenal glands.Estriol is the estrogen most beneficial to the vagina, cervix and vulva. In cases of vaginal dryness and atrophy, which predisposes a woman to vaginitis and cystitis, topical estriol is the most effective and safest estrogen to use. Because of this estriol is better than estradiol for the treatment of urinary tract infections.

The Human placenta produces Pregnenolone and Progesterone from circulating Cholesterol. Pregnenolone is converted in the fetal adrenal gland into Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a C19 steroid, then subsequently sulfonated to DHEAS. DHEAS is converted via 16-OH DHEAS, also in the fetal adrenal. In the fetal liver, 16-OHDHEAS is converted to Estriol, and is the predominant site of estriol synthesis.

Levels of estriol in non-pregnant women do not change much after menopause, and levels are not significantly different from levels in men.

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. Sicotte NL, Liva SM, Klutch R, et al. (October 2002). "Treatment of multiple sclerosis with the pregnancy hormone estriol". Ann. Neurol. 52 (4): 421­8. doi:10.1002/ana.10301. PMID 12325070. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ana.10301.
2. Deska Pagana, Kathleen; Pagana, Timothy J. (2002). Mosby's manual of Diagnostic and Laboratory Tests, 2nd Edition.