From: Elizabeth Childs (echilds@linex.com)
Date: Mon Jun 28 1999 - 10:35:43 MDT
Spike Jones wrote:
> Wow! Thats a new one on me. Testosterone is essential? Do women
> need it too then? Why would it be essential for a man's health and not
> for a woman's? Elizabeth are you a doctor? Are testacles the only source
> of natural testosterone? Thanks in advance. spike
Yes, women need testosterone too. One third of it comes from the
ovaries, and I'm not sure where the rest of it comes from, probably
broken down from other hormones. In women, it regulates mood, energy,
libido, bone density and muscle mass, and I
believe it does the same in men. Women's testosterone levels tend to be
about 10% of men's, however. Men have estrogen and progesterone, as
well, and some doctors believe that imbalances in these hormones can
dramatically effect men's health.
Hormones have all kinds of subtle effects on human behavior, which are
altered when we take birth control pills or other types of artificial
hormones. For example, a study was done where sweat was collected from
men, then the different samples of sweat were presented to women. The
women were asked which sweat smelled the best to them. They would
consistently pick the sweat from the man whose immunities were the most
complementary to their own. BUT, women on birth control pills would
pick the man whose immunities were most similar to her own. The theory
is that birth control pills simulate pregnancy, and during pregnancy a
woman is evolved to want to be in the company of her relatives, who
would have similar immunities.
(Whenever a girlfriend can't figure out why she got involved with a
particular man, I always tell them about this study. It's the
immunities.)
Women prefer more masculine male faces while they are fertile, but more
feminine male faces while they are not fertile:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_376000/376321.stm
It's things like this that always make me wonder how people could ever
develop a romance over the internet. There's a lot of biochemical
information about a mate that you can't get remotely.
The extropian point would be that biochemistry is so darn complicated,
particularly anything that involves the many interrelated hormones, that
every time we try to change it we will run both foreseeable and
unforseeable complications. If we had nanotech to do this, I would
suggest disabling the mechanisms of action that causes the testosterone
to increase the libido, rather than lowering the testosterone level.
This might have fewer complications.
I am not a doctor, but here is a passage from a doctor that covers
testosterone in women in more depth. This is from a book by Dr.
Elizabeth Vliet, called "Screaming to Be Heard: Hormonal Connections
Women Suspect, and Doctors Ignore." I believe this information is
reliable, although she doesn't cite specific studies in this book, which
is written for a general audience.
"Testosterone is one of a group of hormones called "ANDROGENS" which are
made from cholesterol by the female ovary and adrenal glands. Androgens
are also made from precursor "building blocks" in body fat tissue,
muscle, and other sites. The word androgen is derived from the Greek
andros meaning "male-like" and refers to any steroid molecule with 19
carbon atoms that is able to bind to the androgen hormone receptor sites
in the brain and body. The amount of circulating active androgens in
women is obviously much lower than in men, but these compounds are
important for many normal functions in the female body.
Androgens:
dihydrotestosterone (DHT)
testosterone
dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S)
androstenedione
Over the course of a woman's life, the ovary makes on average about
one-third of a woman's circulating androgens, in addition to producing
the female hormones estrogen and progesterone... There are potentially
significant effects from the loss of testosterone: loss of sex drive,
fatigue, declining muscle mass, decreased bone density, and changes in
feelings of well being to name a few...
Testosterone has important functions in maintaining muscle tissues in
women... and helping to build bone. Maintaining bone density is one of
the crucial roles of testosterone for women, particularly as women grow
older and lose the effects of estrogen in maintaining bone density.
Furthermore, testosterone plays a key role in keeping a woman's energy
level optimal. Decline or loss of this critical hormone is one of the
frequently unrecognized factors in the mid-life problem of "chronic
fatigue"... our psychological sense of well-being is also enhanced by
testosterone. In some women, what appeared to be a depression turned
out to be a deficiency of testosterone.
Too little testosterone:
Low energy
Loss of sex drive
Slowed down
Mildly depressed mood
Fewer dreams
Thin, fine hair
Dry, thin skin
Too much testosterone:
Hyper feeling
Increased libido
"Scattered" thoughts
Irritable, anxious
Intense dreaming
Aggressive dreams
Violent dreams
Facial hair
Acne"
A large excess of testosterone, in the amounts used by some
bodybuilders, can cause violent and risky behavior.
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