Female hormones, hormonal imbalance
The Effects of Hormones in Women
Many women, when faced with the difficulty of hormonal imbalance, will shy away from the conversation, often due to a lack of understanding or simply embarrassment. This sort of attitude is understandable, considering that female hormones control nearly every function in a woman’s body, including the female menstrual cycle, which is in its self a bit of a taboo subject for women. But whatever the attitude toward the hormone effects in women, the fact remains that hormones are responsible for wellbeing, and when hormonal imbalance is present, severe consequences can result. The more understanding a woman has about hormonal imbalance, and the role that the bodies important
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A more in-depth definition of these three female hormones can be found below.
Estrogen and progesterone can control a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle by way of slight fluctuations in balance. During the first half of the cycle, estrogen is increased, which can attribute to feelings of well-being, heightened energy levels, sharper memory and concentration, elevated mood, and more normal sleep patterns.
During the second half of the menstrual cycle, women often experience emotional and physical effects of hormonal imbalance and disruption of progesterone levels in the body, commonly referred to as PMS (Premenstrual Mood Syndrome). Also during this time, lower levels of progesterone in the body leads to an interruption of glucose to the brain, causing symptoms of confusion and emotional abnormalities like rage, tension, depression, irritability, a decrease in ability to concentrate, and memory loss. Progesterone and estrogen have an effect on other female hormone receptor sites, which can lead to the symptoms described and more. This more simply explains how the body’s intertwined relationship of hormones and receptors can have such a broad effect on the body with very little fluctuation.
Armed with a better understanding of the complex relationship hormones have with the body’s organs, receptors, and each other, perhaps hormonal imbalance will become less frequent and ultimately more easily treatable. Some may
Because athletes practice and train under strenuous intensity, the symptoms of PCOS are often disregarded. Female athletes in general have shown a higher percent of irregular and absent menstruation due to various factors such as diets, body fat, overtraining etc., compared to females of the general population. I am professionally interested in this topic because most female athletes that experience symptoms presented as a warning for PCOS, pass off their condition as something they should accept due to the nature of their active lifestyles and dietary habits. Although not all female athletes who exhibit these symptoms have PCOS, the hormonal imbalance can potentially lead to PCOS if they continue to ignore the symptoms and forgo attempts at lifestyle changes. These changes are fairly simple but can be viewed as tedious for
Since PCOS is the most common endocrine disorder for women of reproductive ages, Questions to explore are: How does lifestyle factors such as obesity impacts the development of PCOS, how does PCOS affects a women quality of life and what are the best treatment options?
Breast cancer is a popular disease that many people are afraid of. It is the growth of altered genes that create malignant tumors starting in a female or male’s breast tissue. Cancer has a reputation of being caused by hormones, but that may not always be the case. Hormones are chemicals that work as chemical messengers in the body and affect the duties of cells and tissues. The ovaries in premenopausal and postmenopausal women usually produce the hormones, like estrogen and progesterone. The hormone estrogen develops and maintains the female sex features and progesterone have to do with women 's menstrual cycle and pregnancy. In a breast cancer cell, it
This paper will discuss a chronic endocrine disorder known as polycystic ovarian syndrome also known as PCOS. “This syndrome is common among women who are
It was found that energy expenditure correlated to the fluctuations in E1 and progesterone in that there was a significantly lower energy expenditure during a 24-hour measurement during the follicular phase when compared to the menstrual (~3.8%) and luteal (~4.9%) phases.12 Interestingly, this study also found that expenditure while asleep was significantly greater during the luteal phase than during the menstrual and follicular phases which is a direct correlation to an increase in progesterone. As a result of this study, it was concluded that fluctuations of hormones throughout the menstrual cycle significantly affects energy expenditure, notably during sleep, but also in overall BMR.12 This can be linked directly to fluctuations in progesterone and can be observed when measuring energy expenditure and BMR over a 24-hour
There has been conflicting research and advice about the safety of hormones with the increase in the aging female population within the last twenty years (National Institute on Aging). Hormone therapy has demonstrated to be the most effective FDA approved medication in the relief of menopausal symptoms, but these benefits must be weighed against serious adverse effects that hormones can cause. Although many women differ in their response to hormone products, MHT has been universally linked to an increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, blood clots, and strokes. Concerns about the findings discovered in the clinical and observation trials performed on MHT, have left some doctors and women hesitant in utilizing MHT to combat menopausal
The title of this article does properly reflect the findings of this experiment because the results of this study are that hypothalamic progesterone is required for LH release and is important in the LH surge. This title also includes how the study animals were modified prior to experimentation and the name of the animals in this study. It is important to identify the study animal in the title of the article so that readers know that the experiments are conducted in a mammalian system and which hormones will be discussed in the article.
It remains to be seen whether or not menopause has a direct effect on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Definitively tracking the effects of menopause in a woman’s body is difficult because the changes brought about by hormonal imbalance in menopause, just like in PCOS, impact a number of processes and functions. This difficulty is further compounded by the fact that hormones affect the body synergistically and one is never too sure how a person’s appearance, health condition, or disposition will reflect one’s changing hormone levels.
In this paper I will be focusing on the positive and negative aspects of hormonal replacement therapy. To understand replacement therapy we first need to look at what occurs in a women’s body during menopause. As a woman is my 40’s like so many others, I will be in need of this information in the not so distant future, and as such this topic serves a considerable purpose. Awareness and education in this area can alleviate problems and make what could be a traumatic experience more manageable thereby raising the quality of ones life. Hopefully, women today will no longer have to
Estrogen and progesterone are hormones generated by the ovaries. These hormones have a variety of fundamental uses in the body of a female. Estrogen initiates thickening of the uterus wall in preparation for implantation of a fertilized ovum. Also, estrogen plays a role in the metabolism of calcium in the body. Apart from these two roles, estrogen also participates in the maintenance of cholesterol levels within the normal limits. Estrogen is also implicated in keeping the vagina healthy. Progesterone, on the other hand, acts as a regulatory substance to estrogen. Menopause is characterized by a reduction in production of these hormones. This decline in production correlates with a decline in performance of
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder was most recently reviewed and confirmed by a work group consisting of ten men to a mere four women (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The disorder consists of both affective (irritability and anxiety) and physical changes (lethargy and hypersomnia) that a woman experiences during the week before most of her periods of menses (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p.172). The DSM provides examples of social impairment that a woman suffering from PMDD might experience; they pertain to “marital discord” and problems with children (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p.174). One international study of young women in Poland shows research findings suggesting that women living in large cities are at a higher risk of acquiring PMDD (Drosdzol,
al. 1992) Progesterone acts as a regulator for the entire endocrine system, has an important role in nerve function, and works as a mild antidepressant. It also controls estrogen dominance. (http://www.4health.com/Pro-Max.html)
HRT rose in the effort to ease symptoms associated with menopause. Today there is little doubt that hot flushes amongst others can be relieved by the use of exogenous estrogens.2 The focus of HRT changed however in the 1990s from short-term treatment to preventive long-term treatment.2 Exogenous hormones are very bioactive and interact with endogenous hormones and interfere with natural variations. Estradiol, the main component of HRT in Europe, has shown effects on inflammation74-77, immunity78, 79 and metabolism80-86. These effects are multifaceted and not unidirectional,81, 86, 87 as they strongly depend on the tissue and the specific microenvironment.88-91 The effects of HRT depend further on age, timing in relation to menopause, dose and therapeutic window2, 81, 84
In the early transitional stages of menopause, women begin to experience a variety of physical and psychological changes (3). Some of the physical changes are unnoticeable to the menopausal women, while others are due to the symptoms. The symptoms commonly experienced by women during menopause include: hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, depression, irritability, headaches, and sleep disturbance, each symptom varies among women (3). Certain symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness have been associated to occur due to the loss of estrogen (4). In order to alleviate the patient’s discomfort of the ongoing symptoms, doctors
Everyone experiences some unhappiness in his or her lifetime whether it is a specific situation or not. It becomes more serious when the cause is a form of "depression." It is a fact that women experience depression about twice as much as men (1). These causes specifically for women can be complex and so are the solutions (3). A common syndrome affecting an estimated 3% to 8% of women in their reproductive years is called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) (4). PMDD is specifically known as a mood disorder of severe depression, irritability, and tension with symptoms worsening a week or so before a woman's menstrual period and usually settling out afterwards (5). PMDD can be devastating to