Category " Hormone therapy"

What is it?            Polycystic ovary disease (also known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS) is defined as a condition in which there is an imbalance in female sex hormones. This can lead to a number of changes including abnormal and irregular menses, acne and infertility. The typical woman with PCOS is thought of as being [...]

Disease or hormone imbalance? I have been plagued by insomnia for years and years. I have attributed it to many things and have been diagnosed with a variety of “disease states”. Depression is associated with insomnia, check. Too much stress from the loss of loved ones to the stresses of medical school and residency, check. [...]

Label a product as anti aging and chances are it will go flying off the shelf.  Our aging population is seeking ways to hang onto our mental, physical and emotional health.  The relatively new specialty of Anti Aging medicine was born out of this desire.  It may also be known and is synonymous with Age [...]

Human Growth Hormone is vital to health Human Growth hormone (HGH) is a hormone that stimulates growth and cell reproduction in humans and animals.  It is secreted from the anterior pituitary gland in the brain during Stage IV sleep and is vital to all organs and tissues.   HGH is highest in adolescence and declines with [...]

If you wonder why you can’t find a primary care physician anymore, read this article from yesterday’s New York Times.  Solo family practice, pediatrics and general internists are becoming an endangered species.  The starry-eyed physician who just  “wants to help people” soon finds him or herself mired in debt, having to see 30+ patients a [...]

What is melatonin? Melatonin is a hormone that is derived from the amino acid tryptophan, which is a precursor for the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is catalyzed into melatonin.  It is a small molecule that, unlike other hormones, does not need a receptor, and affects all organ systems due to its ability to permeate almost every [...]

Pregnenolone is a hormone that is produced primarily in the adrenal glands and the brain.  It sits just under cholesterol in the hormonal cascade and is a precursor for all the other steroid hormones: progesterone,  cortisol,  estradiol,  testosterone, and DHEA.  Like the other steroid hormones, pregnenolone declines with age to less than 60% of youthful [...]

Cortisol and Stress Cortisol, commonly known as hydrocortisone, is the major hormone secreted by the adrenal glands when the body is under stress.  It is critical in the body’s ability to act accordingly when attacked, whether it is by invaders like viruses and bacteria or allergens, or perceived attacks such as stressful jobs, relationships, and [...]

To get you ready for my next post: There are more than 15 steroid hormones, each with its own metabolites, and an enzyme system that converts them from one steroid to another, from moment to moment: the steroid hormone cascade.

We hear so much about the thyroid today and it seems that almost everyone has or thinks they have a thyroid problem.  So what’s the deal – is thyroid disease really increasing that much?  Are all these people complaining of depression, fatigue and difficulty losing weight just looking for excuses or can these problems be [...]