Estrogen as a vital Hormone

Estrogen as a Vital Hormone Oestrogens or estrogens (spellings in British English and American Englis husage respectively), are a group of compounds named for their importance in both menstrual and estrous reproductive cycles. They are the primary female sex hormones. Natural estrogens are steroid hormones, while some synthetic ones are non-steroidal. The name comes from the Greek οἶστρος (oistros), literally meaning "verve or inspiration" but figuratively sexual passion or desire,and the suffix-gen, meaning "producer of" (encyclopedia Britanica et Wikipedia magnifico) Estrogens are synthesized in all vertebrates as well as some insects and so on and so forth. Their presence in both vertebrates and insects suggests that estrogenic sex hormones have an ancient evolutionary history. Estrogens are used as part of some oral contraceptives, in estrogen replacement therapy for postmenopausal women, and in-hormone replacement therapy for trans women. Like all steroid hormones, estrogens readily diffuse across the cell membrane. Once inside the cell, they bind to and activate estrogen receptors which in turn modulate the expression of many genes. Additionally, estrogens have been shown to activate a G protein-coupled receptor, GPR30. Types of Estrogen We have the Steroidal and the natural (Non-steroidal) types of estrogen Steroidal Premarin among other steroidal synthetics, a commonly prescribed estrogenic drug produced from the urine of pregnant mares, contains the steroidal estrogens equilin and equilenin. There are estradiol skin patches such as Estraderm (the original brand, introduced in the late 1980s) that offer a completely natural alternative.The three major naturally occurring estrogens in women areestrone(E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). Estradiol is the predominant estrogen during reproductive years both in terms of absolute serum levels as well as in terms of estrogenic activity. During menopause, estrone is the predominant circulating estrogen and during pregnancy estriol is the predominant circulating estrogen in terms of serum levels. Though estriol is the most plentiful of the three estrogens it is also the weakest, whereas estradiol is the strongest with a potency of approximately 80 times that of estriol. Thus, estradiol is the most important estrogen in non-pregnant females who are between themenarcheand menopause stages of life. However, during pregnancy this role shifts to estriol, and in postmenopausal women estrone becomes the primary form of estrogen in the body. Another type of estrogen called estetrol (E4) is produced only during pregnancy. All of the different forms of estrogen are synthesized from androgens, specifically testosterone and androstenedione, by the enzyme aromatase. [citations needed] Reference ranges for the blood contentof estradiol, the primary type of estrogen, during the menstrual cycle. Non-steroidal.... Click the link below to continue reading... http://arpjournals.blogspot.com/2014/07/estrogen-as-vital-hormone.html