Hormone Testing Jim Paoletti, B.S
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Hormone Testing Jim Paoletti, B.S. Pharmacy, FAARFM Establish the Need – Lab tests – Correlate patient assessment with testing results – Lab tests alone do not always tell the whole story – Lab values are guides to which direction therapy should be considered – Lab values should be used to “confirm the diagnosis” Testing Considerations • Limitations – Timing of cycle – No individual baseline in many cases – Lack of correlation of symptoms to levels – No consideration of influences on free hormone levels (such as SHBG) – Dosage form differences • Don’t rely on lab tests alone— Treat the patient, not the labs Testing Considerations • Are you comparing to the range of a person of the reported life stage or the range of the age you are attempting to replicate? – We don’t want menopausal levels in most cases Testing Considerations • When was the test done compared to the timing of the last dose? – Make sure patient is at steady state if possible • 8 -24 hrs post topical application • 4-8 hrs post oral dosing (SR capsules) • Be consistent with subsequent testing • Pay attention to changes in: • Site of application • Base • Volume applied Body Fluids Commonly Used for Testing Steroid Hormones • Serum/plasma • 24-hour urine • Saliva • Capillary blood (dried blood spot) Serum Testing Advantages • Wide range of hormones available • Familiar reference ranges • Many laboratories to choose from • Standard automated methods with appropriate proficiency testing • Insurance coverage Serum Testing Considerations • Established “gold standard” based on evidence for endogenous values, not exogenous administration • Invasive to the patient - phlebotomist required • Difficult to measure multiple times during day or month • Unable to distinguish between bound and unbound hormones • Progesterone assays do not distinguish between progesterone and its metabolites • Serum E2 less reflective of loose bound hormone in women Serum Testing Considerations • Large normal ranges • Ranges for free and bio-available testosterone established for men, not sensitive enough for women • Normal testosterone range is often the same for all adult women, no matter of age Free Androgen Index (Total T ÷ SHBG) often inaccurate • Hidden costs in patient obtaining sample • Adequate for endogenous hormone measurement • Overestimation for oral supplementation • Underestimation for topical supplementation Serum Testing Considerations • Cortisol in serum – Elevations due to fear of being stuck – Timing of test vs. normal range timing – Inconvenient to do multiple tests – Unrepresentative of normal situation • Did anyone pay any attention to the time of her cycle?!! – Follicular or Luteal phase • Current hormone therapy – Not correlated in literature 24-Hour Urine Testing Advantages • Non-invasive • Wide range of hormones available • Good estimation of total daily production • Not as subject to the daily ebb and flow of steroid production as serum/saliva • A good reflection of endogenous steroid production if no supplementation given 24-Hour Urine Testing Considerations • Urine Estradiol is not the same as serum estradiol – Serum measures the unconjugated hormone bound to protein – Urine measures conjugated estradiol • Most of conjugates in urine are glucoronides; the kidney excretes estrogen sulphates 24-Hour Urine Testing Considerations • Expensive • Inconvenient-collection over 24 hrs • Measurement of metabolites – Assay may not differentiate between a hormone a it’s metabolites – Measurement of what is being thrown away and not what is bioavailable or being utilized by tissues – Not getting representation of the active hormone delivered to the tissue with exogenous administration Urine Testing • Not Representative of Delivery to Tissue • Progesterone 100mg p.o. – 90-95% metabolized on first pass effect – 5-10 mg delivered to tissues (bioavailable: 5-10 mg) – Metabolites measured reflect 100mg progesterone • Progesterone 10 mg topical – ≥90% delivered to tissues – 5-10 mg delivered to tissues (bioavailable: 5-10 mg) – Metabolites measured reflect 10 mg progesterone Saliva Testing • First citations in 1960’s • Commercially available in 1990’s • Steadily increasing number of citations: – cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA Saliva Testing Considerations • Have to use extracted testing for estradiol – Direct measurement of E2 is inaccurate and imprecise, and provides no useful clinical results • Testing procedures must be sensitive enough to differentiate different hormones • To be clinically useful, need to have established valid reference ranges that consider route, timing of dose, and symptom relieve relative to the level. Saliva Testing Considerations • Poor Technique in sample collection or handling can compromise results – Blood contamination • Spurious results with periodontal disease (more problem with chewing gum) – Contamination from supplementation products • Saliva easily contaminated with topical hormones on lips or hands • Local pooling effect with sublingual administration – Smaller volumes of saliva will be more variable – Saliva samples should not be pooled for analysis Saliva Testing Considerations • Sublingual/Buccal use of hormones leads to spurious high test results – Direct contamination of the oral mucosa – Pooling of hormones in oral cavity – Blood Spot Testing is an excellent alternative for sublingual supplementation – Makes no sense to stop hormone for a certain period of time and then test (my opinion) – Makes no sense to give an exaggerated normal range and try to correlate to tissue levels (my opinion) Dose-Dependent Increase in Salivary Progesterone and Testosterone Following Topical Delivery (Mean ± 2 SD) (4040(4040--6602) 7000 (n = 238) /ml) pg 6000 PROGESTERONE (2757(2757--4581) (female) 5000 (n = 319) 4000 (1054-2580) 3000 (n = 267) TESTOSTERONE (680-2152) (n = 122) (male) 2000 (1654-2698) (n(n == 90)90) SALIVARY ( HORMONE LEVEL SALIVARY 1000 (1218-3254) (n = 17) (571-1747) (715-2057) (n = 31) 0 (n = 39) 5 10 25 50 100 TOPICAL DOSE (mg) Measurement of Steroid vs. Background Salivary Estradiol & Hot Flashes in 39,000 women Hot Flash Hot Severity Reported - Self ESTROGEN DEFICIENT ESTROGEN EXCESS Salivary Estradiol Concentration as determined by extracted EIA Topical Hormone Delivery - The Controversy • Venipuncture blood (serum or whole blood) suggests poor topical absorption of hormones • Saliva suggests topical hormones rapidly and efficiently absorbed • Capillary blood suggests topical hormones rapidly and efficiency absorbed Saliva Testing and Topical Administration of Hormones • Demonstrates increase in tissue levels after topical application of hormones • Linear correlation seen with increasing doses • Illustrates cumulative effect of topically applied supra-physiological doses © ZRT Laboratory.LLC January 20, 2016 23 Chang KJ. 1995. Influences of Percutaneous Administration of E2 & Progesterone on Human Breast Epithelial Cell Cycle in vivo. Application of E2 or Progesterone (20 mg) directly to breasts Intraglandular Steroid Concentration Placebo Pg (n=8) (n=7) Intraglandular Pg (ng/g) 0.6 +/-0.3 66 +/-120 • Progesterone levels increase 100X at the tissue level 2002 04 16 058 Topical Progesterone applied to the breast resulted in significant increase in breast tissue, breast cyst fluid and saliva. Serum and urine levels remained relatively unchanged SALIVA AND SERUM PROGESTERONE FOLLOWING PERCUTANEOUS APPLICATION OF 20 MG PROGESTERONE HOURS POST A PPLICATION -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 22 20 18 16 14 WEEK 1 12 SALIVA 10 8 6 PROGESTERONE(ng/ml) 4 SERUM 2 0 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 6:30 600 630 700 730 800 830 900 930 630 1000 1030 1100 TIME1130 1200 OF1230 1300 DAY1330 1400 1430 1500 1530 1600 1630 1700 1730 1800 1830 © ZRT Laboratory.LLC January 20, 2016 26 Testosterone Topical Supplementation: Serum Underestimation & Potential Overdosing Testosterone Measurements Post-Supplementation 5mg Topical Application 700 600 Venous Serum Venous Blood Spot 500 Capillary Serum 400 Capillary Blood Spot 300 200 Concentration (ng/dl) 100 0 Baseline 6 Hours Post Supplementation Review of Articles • Articles examined whether topical progesterone (20- 30mg) protected the estrogen-stimulated endometrial lining – All the articles which claimed that topical progesterone failed to provide protection looked at the serum level and assumed it was too low for the progesterone to provide protection – The two articles that demonstrated protection biopsied the endometrial tissue and looked at histological changes Stanczyk, FZ et al. Percutaneous administration of progesterone: blood levels and endometrial protection. Menopause 12(2): 232- 237, 2005 Continued • “Studies investigating the effect of topical cream on the endometrium should not be based on serum progesterone levels but on histologic examination of the endometrium.” Stanczyk, FZ et al. Percutaneous administration of progesterone: blood levels and endometrial protection. Menopause 12(2): 232- 237, 2005 Conclusion • Conclusion from Stanczyk article: – You cannot use serum value to judge the tissue effect on the endometrium for topically applied progesterone • Since topical progesterone concentrates more in the uterus than almost all other tissue, one would have to assume the same conclusion on serum levels would apply to all tissues unless and until proven otherwise “ Serum progesterone levels may not reflect progesterone levels in a particular tissue..” “It is now recognized that salivary progesterone levels can increase from baseline levels