BACKGROUND Overweight children become obese adults who are prone to develop the "metabolic syndrome" and premature coronary arterial disease (CAD). AIMS To assess whether sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) is a potential marker for hyperinsulinaemia/insulin resistance in prepubertal obese children. METHODS Twenty five obese children (body mass index (BMI) >2SD) who warranted investigation ...

The effect of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, lisinopril, on gonadal hormones was assessed in 20 patients with essential hypertension. A daily dose of 5 to 20 mg of lisinopril was administered for 6 mo. In male patients, the free testosterone (f-T) concentration decreased significantly (before, 13.8+/-2.4 pg/ml; after, 9.9+/-1.5 pg/ml: mean +/- SEM, p < 0.05), whereas the plasma tot...

INTRODUCTION Combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) use is becoming an increasingly recognized causes of vestibulodynia. AIM This study aims to describe pre- and posttreatment vestibular pain, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and calculated free testosterone levels in women undergoing treatment for vestibulodynia. METHODS This was a chart review of 50 premenopausal women who presented ...

We have demonstrated the intracellular expression of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) exon VII splicing variant mRNA in human uterine endometrial cancer using the reverse transcription-PCR-Southern blot and DNA sequencing analyses. Analysis of the missing base pairs proved that they corresponded to the entire exon VII, which is considered to encode a portion of the steroid-binding site, sugg...

The prostate develops in the urogenital sinus (UGS) under the influence of androgens. Whilst free androgens can enter the cell to activate the androgen receptor and induce prostate development, approximately 98.5% of androgens in plasma are bound to binding proteins such as sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). There is increasing evidence that an alternative pathway for androgens to enter targe...

OBJECTIVES Obesity is associated with low levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). While the reason is not fully understood, we aimed to study the association between serum insulin and levels of SHBG in a random population. DESIGN AND METHODS Between 2001 and 2005, a random sample of 2816 participants aged 30-74 years were enrolled in a cross-sectional survey in the South-west of Sweden...

OBJECTIVES We tested the hypothesis that serum total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels predict cardiovascular (CV) events in community-dwelling elderly men. BACKGROUND Low serum testosterone is associated with increased adiposity, an adverse metabolic risk profile, and atherosclerosis. However, few prospective studies have demonstrated a protective link between endog...

BACKGROUND Reports suggest a relationship between circulating sex hormone levels and breast cancer risk, but genetic association studies have been inconclusive. We investigated the association between levels of sex hormones and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes coding for the enzymes that regulate them. METHODS We assayed circulating levels of estradiol, testosterone, estrone, a...

The concept of a female androgen insufficiency syndrome, although not new, remains somewhat controversial. Androgens are quantitatively the predominant sex steroid in women, circulating in the micromolar and nanomolar concentration range, compared with picomolar levels of oestrogens. The most significant biologically active androgen is testosterone (T), which circulates bound tightly to sex-hor...

We have shown previously that tri-iodothyronine (T3)-induced sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) secretion by the human hepatoblastoma cell line, HepG2, can be modulated by retinoids. We have now used this model to study a range of other compounds that are known to influence T3 responsiveness in various cell systems. HepG2 cells were incubated for 4 days in serum-free medium containing T3, toge...