Androstenedione is a steroid hormone, often known as a 'pro-hormone,' that is generated primarily in men's testes and women's ovaries and is used to boost the synthesis of the hormones testosterone and oestrogen

 

Androstenedione

Androstenedione became well-known after being used by baseball homerun batter Mark McGwire and other elite athletes. The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 was signed into law in the United States in January 2005. Androstenedione was reclassified from a dietary supplement to an anabolic steroid, which is classed as a schedule III prohibited drug. The National Collegiate Athletic Association considers androstenedione to be a prohibited drug (NCAA).

Androstenedione is a steroid hormone used by the body to make testosterone and estrogen. Androstenedione is taken orally specifically to increase the testosterone level. By boosting testosterone levels, androstenedione is believed to improve the athletic performance, enhance recovery and growth from exercise, increase energy, keep red blood cells healthy, and increase the sexual desire and performance.

In females, androstenedione is released into the circulation via the outer section of the adrenal glands (known as the cortex) and the ovaries, where it is converted to supply around half of all testosterone and virtually all of the body's oestrone, a kind of oestrogen. Although male testes make a lot of androstenedione, they don't release much of it into the bloodstream and instead convert it to testosterone within the testes. In males, the adrenal glands also produce androstenedione, but this is overshadowed by the testes' production of testosterone, the other androgenic hormone.

How is androstenedione controlled?

Androstenedione's management inside the body is complicated due to its release from a variety of glands and its frequent conversion to other hormones. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland, however, are known to have a role in the modulation of androstenedione production from the testes, ovaries, and adrenal cortex.

The adrenal cortex's production of androstenedione is hypothesised to be linked to the pituitary gland's secretion of a specialised hormone known as adrenocorticotropic hormone. It's unknown how adrenocorticotropic hormone and other hormones regulate androstenedione synthesis in the adrenal gland. Luteinising hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone induce the release of androstenedione in the testes and ovaries.

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What happens if I have too much androstenedione?

Too much androstenedione in males can cause an imbalance in oestrogen and testosterone production, which can result in changes like breast growth. Other changes, such as the testes shrinking, may occur depending on the origin of the excess androstenedione.

Excessive body and facial hair development (hirsutism), the cessation of periods (amenorrhoea), severe acne, and changes to the genitalia are all possible side effects of too much androstenedione in women.