Monday, March 08, 2004

Interesting facts about estrogens

Estrogen, that is too much estrogen without enough progesterone to counterbalance it, is theorized to cause disease such as fibroids and endometriosis. Here's a complilation of information about estrogens.

"over 30 different forms of estrogen have been described; the most common forms tested are estrone [E1], estradiol [estradiol-17 beta,E2], and estriol [E3]"
http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/estrogen/glance.html

"The majority (over 90 percent) of the estrogen present in a pre-menopausal woman's body is made in the ovaries. A smaller additional quantity of estrogen is produced by the adrenal glands and peripheral tissues such as fat, liver, and kidneys by converting androgens to estrogens. Estrogen hormones are also formed in the placenta during pregnancy."
http://www.dhyansanjivani.org/Estrogen.asp

"Increasing FSH levels during the late luteal phase leads to an increase in the number of FSH receptors and ultimately to an increase in estradiol secretion by granulosa cells."
http://www.endotext.org/female/female3/female3.htm

"Estradiol-17b (E2), a steroid hormone, is the most active estrogen in the body. In circulation, E2 is primarily bound to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)."
http://www.dpcweb.com/medical/reproductive_endocrinology/estradiol.html

"Estriol is produced predominantly in the liver as a metabolite of estrone and estradiol."
Is Estriol Safer Than Estradiol?

"For the first 4-6 weeks of pregnancy, estrone originates primarily from maternal sources such as the ovaries, adrenals, or peripheral conversion (57). Later, the placenta secretes increasing quantities of estrone from the conversion of circulating maternal and fetal DHEAS. The placenta continues to be the major source of circulating estrone for the remainder of the pregnancy (53). Estrone concentrations are less than 0.1 ng/mL during the follicular phase and may reach a maximum of 0.3 ng/mL during the luteal phase of a normal menstrual cycle. Following conception, estrone concentrations remain within the luteal phase range through weeks 6-10 of gestation(54). Subsequently there is a gradual increase to a wide range of 2-30 ng/ml at term (53,54,57) (Figures 6 and 8)."
http://www.endotext.org/female/female13/female13.htm

Estrogen Dominance Syndrome
by Ronald Hoffman, M.D.
Conscious Choice, September 1999