Cardiovascular System
Medical Studies on Pregnenolone – Cardiovascular System
As a precursor hormone of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) pregnenolone exerts important indirect effects on cardiovascular health. It improves blood flow within the blood vessels and also positively influences their degree of calcification; important factors in vascular heart disease.
Supporting Cellular Mechanisms
The protective effect of DHEA is due, among other things, to the activation of endothelial nitric oxide, which is involved as a messenger substance in vascular processes such as the regulation of blood pressure and the dilation of blood vessels. Studies have even shown that maintaining healthy physiological levels of pregnenolone, and thus also DHEA, can reduce the risk of vascular heart disease by half.
Steroid Hormones Support Heart Health
Furthermore, studies have shown that steroid hormones such as aldosterone also support cardiovascular health by maintaining healthy blood pressure and adequate water and salt balance. However, care should be taken to avoid overproduction, which can lead to hypertension. Cortisol also plays a role in blood pressure and also affects water and electrolyte balance.
Medical Studies on Pregnenolone – Cardiovascular System
Relationship of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels with atherosclerosis in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism
Subclinical hypothyroidism is related with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. The decreased levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) are associated with hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis and obesity. The lower levels of DHEA‑S might be an important factor in development of atherosclerosis in subclinical hypothyroidism.
Plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and cardiovascular disease risk in older men and women
Lower dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) levels have been inconsistently associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and mortality. Data are limited for heart failure (HF) and association between DHEA-S change and events.
Sex hormones and incident heart failure in men and postmenopausal women: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study
Sex differences exist in heart failure (HF) phenotypes, but there is limited research on the role of sex hormones in HF and its subtypes.
Dehydroepiandrosterone on metabolism and the cardiovascular system in the postmenopausal period
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), mostly present as its sulfated ester (DHEA-S), is an anabolic hormone that naturally declines with age. Furthermore, it is the most abundant androgen and estrogen precursor in humans.
Sexual dimorphism following in vitro ischemia in the response to neurosteroids and mechanisms of injury
Cerebral ischemic stroke is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Sex differences exist following stroke in terms of incidence, symptoms, outcomes and response to some treatments. Importantly, molecular mechanisms of injury, activated following ischemia may differ between the sexes and if so may account, at least in part, for sex differences seen in treatment response.
The role of miRNAs in regulating adrenal and gonadal steroidogenesis
miRNAs are endogenous noncoding single-stranded small RNAs of ~22 nucleotides in length that post-transcriptionally repress the expression of their various target genes. They contribute to the regulation of a variety of physiologic processes including embryonic development, differentiation and proliferation, apoptosis, metabolism, hemostasis and inflammation.