DHEA-S Serum as a Predictor for Adrenal Insufficiency

Pharma TRT
41

Well of course they are post menopausal, that is the whole reason they have adrenal fatigue.

Are you saying it’s different because its women?

A post-mortem study examined adrenal glands from men and women and discovered that the deeper layer of the zona fasciculata and all of the reticularis contained LH receptor protein and transcripts, identified by in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry. LH receptor proteins have also been identified in adrenal glands in cases of ACTH-independent Cushing’s Syndrome. Although LH receptors have been identified in aldosterone producing adenomas they have not been found in the zona glomerulosa of patients without adrenal pathology.This evidence suggests that LH may act directly by binding to adrenal LH receptors to favor cortisol secretion in patients without overt adrenal pathology.

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I’m not necessarily saying that it is, but I am leaving the door open for the possibility that it could be. A woman’s hormonal balance is completely different from what a mans is, so it would stand to reason that the production and regulation loops would be different as well wouldn’t it?

I’m sincerely asking that as a question because I really don’t know. I’m in “learn” mode right now lol.

What I did state though was that the outcome of the study did speculate the LH connection, and that the speculation wasn’t proven…BUT, being fair to both sides, the focus of the study wasn’t particularly about LH influence, it was about insulin resistance and adrenal hyperandrogenism so that’s not a fault of the study. The LH possibility was noted as one of the possible factors that could have led to, or should I say contributed to, the observed outcome.

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43

There is no reason to believe it would be any different in this particular scenario so we can extrapolate reasonably it would be the same.

BTW the studies do not guess that LH is a good determining factor of HPA function, they both concluded this was the case.

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44

I wouldn’t dispute that, not at this time anyway lol. What I was referring to as “speculative” was this line in the study.

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45

@increasemyt I have really enjoyed this thread. Just posting to subscribe. I won’t go into detail now but love HCG. Been cut since 1985. HCG has really helped me with testis pain while on TRT.
I take it for no other reason than testicular pain. On HCG no pain.

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46

It just says may because there is correlation not causation, both studies in fact conclude that LH correlates with adrenal function.

Thats why the title of the study is:

LUTEINIZING HORMONE CORRELATES WITH ADRENAL FUNCTION IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Conclusions

In postmenopausal women, serum LH levels correlate significantly with UFC (positively) and AER (negatively). LH stimulation may induce subtle shifts in adrenal function towards cortisol secretion.

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On the second study, here is the discussion:

We found a significant and positive correlation between salivary cortisol and LH levels in PCOS women. This correlation was previously found in postmenopausal women who also present high levels of LH [27, 28]. Several studies have demonstrated the presence of LH receptors in adrenocortical cells which also bind human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and their potential to induce local steroidogenesis [29–36]. In situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry also demonstrated that the adrenal zona reticularis and the deeper layer of adrenal zona fasciculada contain LH/hCG receptors [31]. In addition, it has been demonstrated that administration of hCG stimulates cortisol production in guinea-pig adrenal cells [30], increases DHEA-S production in human fetal adrenal gland [29], and stimulates DHEA-S production in human adrenocortical carcinoma cells [35]. Study including 2 women with Cushing’s syndrome and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia demonstrated pronounced cortisol rise after GnRH administration and, in vitro, the adrenal cells of these women also responded to hCG exposure increasing cortisol production. Furthermore, LH receptor mRNA was demonstrated in adrenal tissue of both patients [34]. Lacroix et al. [32] reported a woman with bilateral adrenal hyperplasia who presented high cortisol levels and Cushing’s syndrome during her pregnancies and permanent hypercortisolism only after menopause. This patient showed increased cortisol secretion in response to LH and hCG administration. In addition, long-term suppression of LH by leuprolide acetate administration resulted in complete reversal of Cushing’s syndrome. It raises the possibility of an overexpression of LH receptors in adrenal gland also in nonobese women with PCOS.

So there is no doubt there is correlation. Now we can sit here and argue about whether or not LH would stimulate all functions of the adrenals, but what we cannot argue, is that LH levels correlate with function.

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48

Dumb question concerning doses.

If you were to inject 500IU of HCG, how much is that in a syringe? I’ve read that 1ml = 100iu, but that just seems very crazy to me that someone would pump 5ml of HCG (5 full 1cc syringes) at one sitting.

Seems more logical to me that 1ml = 1000iu?

Could someone clarify?

49

Depends on the amount of bacteriostatic water you used to mix the powder. You determine the concentration pretty much.

50

Oh ok. I have no experience with international units so thank you. Everything I have read has implied that it was a measurement of total volume. From what you are stating it would actually be a measure of weight and the total volume would be determined by the concentration?

Is this correct?

51

The question I have is what is actually the proper dose of HCG for someone to be taking?

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@increasemyt
I tested my dhea-s recently and it was 311 ug/dl (102-416). Test was done around 2pm fasted and cortisol was 17. Do you think I’d get any advantage from hcg? The test was done around 8 months on trt.

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Are you using dhea supp?

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@charlie12
No I am not taking DHEA.

55

@increasemyt
Just started TRT. I took hcg 500ui and 70mg of test, and the today I took my adrenal concentrate and I feel pretty good. Think maybe e2 could be high.

I am also on painkillers so that could cause lower adrenals as well which could be helping. I was prescribed DHEA also and I have it but I am not sure if I want to add it in yet.

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56

whataburgerjunior you should start you own thread.

57

you have to experiment to see what works for you. Me, 800iu/wk in two shots of 400iu per week is perfect. I have tried 500/wk and 1500/wk. With 800 my boys swing freely with no dull ache.

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When you say what works for me like what do you mean? What is the goal when using HCG? I take 50I.U ED along with 14mg of Testosterone ED and 400mg of DIM

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I was wondering I heard that HCG and Free T helps with sensitivity I was wondering how much would I need to take to feel those benefits

60

You are using the HCG incorrectly, you are not likely to get anything out of that protocol. Think of it as having a refractory period. If you take it today, the shot tomorrow won’t do anything. The most you can use it is EOD, and 50 IU’s is a waste of time. You need to be at 250-500 iu’s per shot. The HCG is simulating LH, which is stimulating testicle function. It will boost your test, E2 and a handful of other hormones to a lesser extent.