#Androgen hormones free

Moreover there are theoretical possibilities that low testosterone in men and high free testosterone fraction in women may play a role in the development of the metabolic syndrome. In both sexes, androgens play an important role in determining the sex-dependent pattern of body fat distribution. Among other still partially undefined factors, mechanisms potentially responsible for the sex dichotomy in androgen levels involve specific alterations of gonadotropin secretion, estrogens, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, leptin, androgen receptors, specific steroidogenic enzymes in the peripheral tissues, and, possibly, ghrelin. Reduced sex hormone-binding globulin synthesis and circulating blood levels represent the sole common mechanism which is responsible in both sexes.

Obese men are characterized by a progressive decrease of testosterone levels with increasing body weight, whereas obese women, particularly those with the abdominal phenotype, tend to develop a condition of functional hyperandrogenism. Obesity is associated with profound alterations in androgen secretion, transport, metabolism, and action, according to a dichotomous behavior depending on sex. Published data in the literature of the last 20 years represented the basis of most of the data and concepts incorporated in the review. This review discusses androgen status in male and female obesity, according to their specific phenotype, and the main mechanisms responsible.

Androgen hormones