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Sidra AyyazSalma RomanSumaira SadiqAdeeba Rani

HORMONES AND AGINGHORMONES AND AGING

HORMONES HORMONES

o Hormones are chemical messengers that are secreted directly into the blood, which carries them to organs and tissues of the body to exert their functions.

o There are many types of hormones that act on different aspects of bodily functions and processes.

o A large and rapidly growing body of scientific evidence demonstrates that a number of hormones decline with aging.

AGING AGING

Aging is characterized by a progressive loss of coordinated cell and tissue function, so that the body becomes gradually less fit to reproduce and survive.

Today, there are many theories trying to explain aging process but none has succeeded in providing complete answer to the question yet.

IN OUR MIND IN OUR MIND

Do hormones play a role in aging process?

How large is their part?

Is there a possibility that hormones define the rhythm and speed of aging?

Most hormones are typically found in very low concentrations in the bloodstream. But a hormone’s concentration will fluctuate depending on the body’s activity.

As we get older, some hormone levels naturally decline.

Hormones that naturally decline with age including:

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

Human Growth Hormone

Testosterone

Estrogen and Progesterone.

Dehydroepiandrosterone

(DHEA)

Dehydroepiandrosterone

(DHEA)

DHEA DHEA

o DHEA is a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal glands and the precursors in the synthesis of active androgens and estrogens.

o These hormones are used for the energy and the natural support of most bodily functions that involve the endocrine system.

o Usually, the higher the level of DHEA, the healthier the

individual is and lower the level, more prone a person is to sickness.

DHEA plays several significant roles in the aging process.

Research shows that when DHEA levels decline, it increases the incidence of killer diseases.

Secretion of these steroids significantly decreases with age, so that in 70- to 80-year-old subjects serum concentrations of both are by about 20 percent of those in 20- to 30-year-old subjects.

• Maintaining proper levels of DHEA is claimed to have an effect on:

i. A person's appearance.

ii. Reversing or slowing the aging process

iii. Enhancement of mental function

iv. Improvement of muscle strength/mass

v. Improvements in cardiovascular health

vi. Strengthening of immune function

vii. Prevention of Osteoporosis

• The claim cannot be proved for humans, but suggested facts can be acquired from rodent studies.

• DHEA has been know to extend rodent life spans up to 50%, and make them look younger.

SOMATOTROPIN GROWTH HORMONE

SOMATOTROPIN GROWTH HORMONE

SomatotropinSomatotropin

Somatotropin(GH) is a polypeptide chain containing about 190 amino acid residues, produced by the pituitary gland in mammals and is responsible for a number of anabolic processes.

Functions Of SomatotropinFunctions Of Somatotropin

• It is essential for growth. Without growth, no individual can ever cross the infant stage.

• It causes the actual increase in the size and number of

cells by increasing mitotic division.

• The growth hormone is also active in the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

• Causes increased amino acid uptake, increased protein synthesis and decreased oxidation of proteins.

Age-related Decline In GH Release

Age-related Decline In GH Release

Age-related decline in GH secretion involves:

1) A decreased serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).

2) Decreased secretion of growth hormone-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus.

SomatopauseSomatopauseThis condition is a gradual and progressive decline in growth hormone secretion that usually begins around middle age and continues for the rest of your life. 

Number of unpleasant symptoms in body:

1. Decrease in lean body mass

2. Weight gain, especially in the belly area

3. Loss of bone density

4. Lower sex drive

5. Declining energy levels

6. Skin wrinkles

7. Decrease in good cholesterol

8. Increase in bad cholesterol

Tests for Growth Hormone Deficiency

Tests for Growth Hormone Deficiency

1) Blood Tests for Growth Hormone Deficiency

2) MRI of the brain

3) Hand X-rays

Growth Hormone Treatment Growth Hormone Treatment

1. Growth hormone is typically administered as an injection under the skin.

2. Pills(GH releasers)

TESTOSTERONE TESTOSTERONE

IntroductionIntroduction

• Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in humans and other vertebrates.

• In humans and other mammals, testosterone is secreted primarily by the testicles of males and, to a lesser extent, the ovaries of females. Small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid.

Cont… Cont…

• In men, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues, such as the testis and prostate as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle, bone mass, and the growth of body hair.

• In addition, testosterone is essential for health and well-being, as well as the prevention of osteoporosis.

Cont…Cont…

• On average, in adult males, levels of testosterone are about 7–8 times as great as in adult females, but as the metabolic consumption of testosterone in males is greater, the daily production is about 20 times greater in men. Females are also more sensitive to the hormone.

• Testosterone is observed in most vertebrates. Fish make a slightly different form called 11-ketotestosterone. Its counterpart in insects is ecdysone. These ubiquitous steroids suggest that sex hormones have an ancient evolutionary history.

Mechanism of actionMechanism of action

The effects of testosterone in humans and other vertebrates occur by way of two main mechanisms:

By activation of the androgen receptor (directly or as DHT), and

By conversion to estradiol and activation of certain estrogen receptors.

Cont…Cont…

Free testosterone (T) is transported into the cytoplasm of target tissue cells, where it can bind to the androgen receptor, or can be reduced to 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by the cytoplasmic enzyme 5-alpha reductase.

DHT binds to the same androgen receptor even more strongly than testosterone so that its androgenic potency is about 5 times that of T. The T-receptor or DHT-receptor complex undergoes a structural change that allows it to move into the cell nucleus and bind directly to specific nucleotide sequences of the chromosomal DNA.

The areas of binding are called hormone response elements (HREs), and influence transcriptional activity of certain genes, producing the androgen effects.

Cont.…Cont.…

Androgen receptors occur in many different vertebrate body system tissues, and both males and females respond similarly to similar levels.

Greatly differing amounts of testosterone prenatally, at puberty, and throughout life account for a share of biological differences between males and females.

The bones and the brain are two important tissues in humans where the primary effect of testosterone is by way of aromatization to estradiol. In the bones, estradiol accelerates ossification of cartilage into bone, leading to closure of the epiphyses and conclusion of growth.

Cont….Cont….

In the central nervous system, testosterone is aromatized to estradiol. Estradiol rather than testosterone serves as the most important feedback signal to the hypothalamus (especially affecting LH secretion).In many mammals, prenatal or perinatal "masculinization" of the sexually dimorphic areas of the brain by estradiol derived from testosterone programs later male sexual behavior.

Medical usesMedical uses

The primary use of testosterone is the treatment of males with too little or no natural endogenous testosterone production—males with hypogonadism. This is known as hormone replacement therapy or testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), which maintains serum testosterone levels in the normal range.

Testosterone has also been given for many other purposes besides replacement. Examples include reducing infertility, correcting lack of libido or erectile dysfunction, correcting osteoporosis, encouraging penile enlargement, encouraging height growth, encouraging bone marrow stimulation and reversing the effects of anemia, and appetite stimulation.

By the late 1940s, testosterone was being touted as an anti-aging wonder drug.Decline of testosterone production with age has led to interest in androgen replacement therapy.

Cont…Cont…

Testosterone may be used as a monotherapy in dysthymia and minor depression or as an augmentation therapy in major depression in middle-aged men with low testosterone.

However, review of the current literature does not show a statistically significant impact on the mood of the men with normal levels of testosterone or on the mood of the older men with low testosterone.

To take advantage of its virilizing effects, testosterone is often administered to transgender men as part of the hormone replacement therapy, with a "target level" of the normal male testosterone level.

Likewise, transgender women are sometimes prescribed anti-androgens to decrease the level of testosterone in the body and allow for the effects of estrogen to develop.

Cont…. Cont….

Testosterone therapy may improve the management of type 2 diabetes. Low testosterone has been associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease.

A small trial in 2005 showed mixed results in using testosterone to combat the effects of aging. Males with borderline testosterone levels and sexual dysfunction may benefit from a trial of testosterone.

InsufficiencyInsufficiency

Testosterone insufficiency (also termed hypotestosteronism or hypotestosteronemia) is an abnormally low testosterone production.

It may occur because of testicular dysfunction (primary hypogonadism) or hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction (secondary hypogonadism) and may be congenital or acquired.

An acquired form of hypotestosteronism is the decline in testosterone levels that occurs by aging, sometimes called "andropause" in men, as a comparison to the decline in estrogen that comes with menopause in women.

Low levels due to agingLow levels due to aging

Testosterone levels decline gradually with age. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated in 2015 that neither the benefits nor the safety of testosterone have been Established for low testosterone levels due to aging.

The FDA has required that testosterone pharmaceutical labels include warning information about the possibility of an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke.

• testosterone

ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONEESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE

ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONEESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE

• The female hormones estrogen and progesterone are crucial components of a woman’s health.

• Not only do they contribute to a woman’s menstrual cycle and ability to bear children, but they have an impact on other areas of the body.

• As most women know, menopause when the body no longer produces estrogen introduces physiological changes.

ASSOCIATION OF ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONEASSOCIATION OF ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE

• If the woman's egg is not fertilized, estrogen levels decrease sharply and menstruation begins.

• If the egg is fertilized, estrogen works with progesterone, another hormone, to stop ovulation during pregnancy.

FROM WHERE THEY PRODUCEFROM WHERE THEY PRODUCE

• Estrogen : ovarian follicle (ovary), corpus luteum and its levels rise through the early part of the menstrual cycle.

• Progesterone : ovary corpus luteum after ovulation. During the first two weeks of the menstrual cycle.

• Also produce in small amounts from adrenal gland other organs.

• These generally considered a “female” hormone produced by the gonads of both genders.

• In men, effects: Bone, Spermatogenesis & Behavior

HORMONAL CHANGES FROM AGING

HORMONAL CHANGES FROM AGING

Decrease in the secretion of estrogen and progesterone cause :

Fertility plummets after age 40 and pregnancy After age 45 is rare

Infertility Rate :

a. Overall : 2.4%

b. After age 34 : 11%

c. After age 40 : 33%

d. By the age 45 : 87%

Poor sleep patterns. Increased risk of blood clots. Raised body fat and weight gain. Hot flashes. Skin dryness and wrinkles. Heart attack. Bone loss and osteoporosis. Dryness of the vagina and decreased sexual sensation. Bladder infections.

TERMINOLOGYTERMINOLOGY

Menopause final menstrual period (FMP), confirmed after 1 year of no menstrual bleeding.

Permanent cessation of menses loss of ovarian follicular function, usually due to aging.

MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMSMENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS

Sweating Increased Skin Conductance Increased Core Body Temperature Increased Metabolic Rate Increased Skin Temperature Hot flashes appear to be the result of noradrenergic

control independent of estrogen regulation