Indications
• Acne • Adrenal fatigue (a reduced ability to respond to stressors) • Bone loss • Constant exposure to stressors • Depression • Endometrial hyperplasia • Excessive facial and body hair • Fatigue (particularly in the evening) • Feeling cold all the time • Fibrocystic breasts • Foggy thinking • High cholesterol • Hormone-related symptoms • Hot flashes • Immune system dysfunction | | • Irritability • Low sex drive • Low stamina • Night sweats • Oily skin and hair • Poor blood sugar regulation • Pre-menstrual syndrome • Rapid skin aging • Sleep disturbances • Thyroid problems • Uterine fibroids • Symptoms of estrogen dominance • Vaginal dryness • Water retention • Weight gain in the hips and thighs |
Overview
Overview
This test measures analytes E2 (estradiol), Pg (progesterone), T (testosterone), DS (DHEAS) and Cx4 (cortisol) in saliva and TSH, fT3 (free T3), fT4 (free T4) and TPOab in bloodspot.
When patients have hormone-related symptoms, it is usually not a clear-cut case of one hormone level being abnormal, or even one hormone system. In fact, because of the role that hormones play as chemical messengers to wake up the genome in specific target tissues throughout the body, it makes sense that all hormone systems work in concert with each other to maintain a state of balance. This could be likened to the instruments in an orchestra playing together in harmony; when one instrument is off key or playing too loudly or softly (analogous to too much or too little hormone), the overall harmony is affected. In a similar manner, the adrenal, thyroid, and sex hormones work in harmony, and when one or more of the hormones in any one system become unbalanced, this affects the harmony or balance of the whole system.
Priced lower than the sum of the individual tests, this provide a more economical method to assess a patient’s overall hormonal status, giving a better picture of the hormone imbalances that are causing symptoms. Instead of treating a secondary hormonal imbalance caused by an abnormality in only one of the hormonal systems (e.g., hot flashes caused by low estradiol), you can address the underlying issues that lie at the root of the problem, and therefore, better guide your patients towards overall wellness.
Some hormones (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA-S and cortisol) can be determined in either blood spot or saliva, and so your choice depends on which of these is the most suitable for the individual patient.
Saliva is an excellent way to assess sex and adrenal hormone levels in women, and we find a good correlation with symptoms. However, in individuals who produce very little saliva, saliva collection may not be possible and in those who use hormones in a sublingual or troche supplement, saliva hormone testing is not appropriate and blood spot testing is a better choice. In individuals using sublingual hormones, it is difficult to know how much of the hormone in saliva results from direct saturation of the oral mucosa and salivary glands (resulting in false-high salivary levels) versus how much hormone is entering the salivary gland and saliva from the blood circulation.
Practical
Practical
Specimen requirements:
Saliva & bloodspot
Average processing time:
10 ±3 days
Research
Research
• Allolio B, Arlt W, Hahner S. DHEA: why, when, and how much DHEA replacement in adrenal insufficiency. Ann Endocrinol (Paris). 2007;68:268-73.
• Edelman A, Stouffer R, Zava DT, Jensen JT. A comparison of blood spot vs. plasma analysis of gonadotropin and ovarian steroid hormone levels in reproductive-age women. Fertil Steril 2007; 88:1404-7.
• Kaaks R. Nutrition, hormones, and breast cancer: is insulin the missing link? Cancer Causes Control. 1996; 7:605-25.
• Magri F, Cravello L, Barili L, Sarra S, Cinchetti W, Salmoiraghi F, Micale G, Ferrari E. Stress and dementia: the role of the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2006;18:167-70.
• Miller KK. Androgen deficiency in women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001;86:2395-401.
• Selby C. Sex hormone binding globulin: origin, function and clinical significance. Ann Clin Biochem. 1990; 27:532-41.
• Shirtcliff EA, Reavis R, Overman WH, Granger DA. Measurement of gonadal hormones in dried blood spots versus serum: verification of menstrual cycle phase. Horm Behav 2001; 39:258-66.
• Worthman CM, Stallings JF. Hormone measures in fingerprick blood spot samples: new field methods for reproductive endocrinology. Am J Phys Anthropol 1997; 104:1-21.